Additional Effects Of Suboccipital Muscle Inhibition Along With Conventional Approach On Pain, Physical Function and Range of Motion in Patients with Chronic Mechanical Low Back Pain: An Experimental Study

Background: Mechanical low back pain refers to back pain that starts intrinsically from the spine, intervertebral discs, or surrounding soft tissues. This includes lumbosacral muscle strain, disc herniation, lumbar spondylosis, spondylolisthesis, spondylolysis, etc. and this accounts for 97% of cases. It is characterized by increased pain with motion and decreased pain with rest. Repetitive trauma and overuse are common causative factors of chronic mechanical low back pain. The suboccipital muscle inhibition technique (SMIT) has been reported to be beneficial in reducing pain, increasing hamstring extensibility and reducing functional disability in chronic low back pain patients. So, the aim was to compare the effectiveness of suboccipital muscle inhibition technique along with conventional approach and conventional approach alone on pain, physical function and range of motion in patients with chronic mechanical low back pain. Method: Total 46 patients were included and divided into two groups (23 in each group). Experimental group was treated with suboccipital muscle inhibition along with conventional approach and Control group was treated with conventional approach alone for 5 days a week for 4 weeks. Inter-group analysis by Mann Whitney U-test and Unpaired t-test showed statistically significant difference in pain, physical function and lumbar flexion range of motion (P value ≤ 0.001). Conclusion: Suboccipital muscle inhibition along with conventional approach was found to be more predominant in improving pain, physical functional and lumbar range of motion (flexion) in chronic mechanical low back pain than conventional approach. Also, suboccipital muscle inhibition and conventional approach were equally effective in improving lumbar range of motion (extension).