Efficacy of the Mckenzie Method in Patients With Chronic Non-Specific Low Back Pain

The patients allocated to the Placebo group will be treated with detuned pulsed ultrasound therapy for 5 minutes and detuned short wave diathermy in pulsed mode for 25 minutes. Patients will receive 10 sessions of treatment over a period of five weeks (two sessions/week).

The patients of the McKenzie group will be treated according to the principles of the method and the choice of therapeutic intervention will be guided by the physical examination findings and classification. Patients will also receive written instructions from the Treat Your Own Back book and will be asked to perform home exercises based on the principles of McKenzie method. The description of the exercises that will be prescribed in this study are already published elsewhere. Compliance with home exercises will be monitored by means of a daily-log that the patient will fill in at home and bring to the therapist at each subsequent session. Patients will receive 10 sessions of treatment over a period of five weeks (two sessions/week).