Treating persistent low back pain with deadlift training – A single subject experimental design with a 15-month follow-up

Low back pain (LBP) is a common disorder in the western world. Persistent LBP can be caused by pathological changes in the discs and disturbed neuromuscular activation, which can cause hypotrophy of the strong type 2 muscle fibers of the extensors. Deadlift (DL) is an exercise that may address all these pathological transformations. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of DL training on patients with persistent LBP. A single subject experimental design with an AB-design and multiple baselines was applied in this pilot study. Two patients with discogenic LBP and one with arthrogenic LBP were treated with DL training over 8–10 weeks. A follow-up was performed at 15 months. The subjects with discogenic LBP showed positive response to DL training regarding pain intensity and functional status, but the exercise did not affect their mental health. The subject with arthrogenic LBP did not seem to have positive effect from DL training. As a result of this pilot study, the authors hypothesize that DL training may be a successful treatment for subjects with LBP of discogenic origin.