The individuals with chronic non-specific low back pain participated in the study. Subjects were randomly divided into two groups: physiotherapy and manual therapy. All the participants received 12 intervention sessions. In addition, all subjects exercised at home 5 days a week. Subjects' back static strength endurance was assessed by the ITO test, abdominal muscle static strength endurance was assessed by the Kraus-Webber test, fear of movement by the TAMPA kinesiophobia test, torso mobility by the Schober test, pain by the numerical analogy scale. Functional status was assessed by Oswestry and Roland-Morris questionnaires.
Non-specific chronic low back pain (LBP) can be managed with a variety of treatments such as educational programmes, behavioural therapy, acupuncture, medication, electrophysical agents, manual therapy and exercise therapy. Although the above therapies are widely used, they show limited effect at best, with frequent recurrences of LBP. There is insufficient data to prove that one type of exercise is superior to another. Manual therapy is a common therapeutic method used in the treatment of LBP. Therefore, we hypothesised that manual therapy combined with therapeutic exercises would lead to a greater reduction in back pain and improvement in functional status. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of 6 weeks of manual therapy combined with therapeutic exercise on pain and functional status in subjects with chronic non-specific low back pain.