Effect of stabilization exercises on balance parameters in chronic low back pain: a systematic review

Study design Systematic literature review. Background Low back pain (LBP) is the leading cause of disability and absence from work these days. Poor balance and increased postural sway have been found to be frequently reported in individuals with chronic low back pain (CLBP). The spinal stabilization exercise is a comprehensive conservative approach used for the management of CLBP; however, its effect on managing balance impairment in this population is less clear. Objectives The present systematic review aimed to summarize the effect of stabilization exercise on balance outcomes in individuals with CLBP. Methods An electronic search of PubMed, Web of Science, PEDro, DOAJ and Scopus databases was performed to identify relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from database inception till August 2021. Included studies had to have participants experiencing CLBP who were over 18 years old, utilize spinal stabilization exercise intervention, and report outcomes for at least one balance parameter. The methodological quality of RCTs was evaluated using the PEDro scale. Results The initial search resulted in 1150 articles to review. After screening abstracts, then full articles, a total of ten studies were included, of which scores ranged from 4–8/10 on the PEDro scale. A qualitative review was performed on the final selected ten RCTs. A meta-analysis was not possible due to high heterogeneity in the methodological parts of the study. Conclusions Low certainty of evidence suggests that an intervention of stabilization exercise tends to improve balance in the CLBP population. These results should be interpreted with caution as further high-quality RCTs are essentially needed due to the variations in methodological and statistical parts of the included studies.