Comparison of the effects of conventional physiotherapy and proprioception exercises on pain and ankle proprioception in patients with lumbar radiculopathy

BACKGROUND: Lumbar radiculopathy is characterized by a significant amount of backache causing loss of workforce and is a significant health problem frequently seen in the general population. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of conventional physiotherapy (CT) and proprioception exercises (PE) on ankle proprioception and lumbar pain between patients with lumbar radiculopathy and a healthy control group. METHODS: In this randomized clinical trial, 89 patients referred to the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation outpatient clinic were selected through convenience sampling. They were randomly assigned to three groups: CT (n= 27), PE (n= 31), CT&PE (n= 31). Thirty healthy volunteers were included in the study as the control group. Proprioception measurements were made with an isokinetic dynamometer at 10 'dorsiflexion (DF), 11', and 25 'plantarflexion (PF) angles. Lumbar pain was assessed by using the Numerical Pain Rating Scale (NPRS). The data were analyzed by IBM SPSS Statistics version 22.0 via the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of ankle proprioception and NPRS measurements in post-treatment evaluations (p< 0.05). Statistically significant differences were found between CT and PE groups and CT&PE and control groups. There was no statistically significant difference in comparing CT and PE groups and CT&PE and control groups within themselves (p> 0.05). CONCLUSION: The combined use of CT and PE is an effective method that can be used in the clinic to reduce angular differences in ankle proprioception which is one of the primary factors of balance and coordination and lumbar pain.