Efficacy of orthotic support in mitigating low back pain and disability in low back pain sufferers.

BACKGROUND

Low back pain (LBP) is a prevalent disabling ailment that affects people all over the world. A wide variety of orthotic designs, ranging from lumbosacral corsets to rigid thermoplastic thoraco-lumbosacral orthosis are used for managing LBP.

OBJECTIVE

Explore and summarize quality literature on the efficacy of orthotic devices in the management of LBP.

METHODS

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature on the efficacy of orthosis in low back pain management conducted using electronic databases. Studies utilizing orthotic management alone or combined with other therapies for 2 weeks or above were included. A meta-analysis was performed on primary and secondary variables using Mean difference (MD), Inverse variance (IV), and fixed effect model with 95% CI, Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale, Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 (RoB2) tool were used to assess the quality of evidence and the risk bias.

RESULTS

Out of 14671 studies, only 13 Randomized Controlled Trials (RCT) were deemed eligible for inclusion in this study, all level 1 evidence. We found that orthotics could significantly mitigate LBP (P-value < 0.00001). Similarly, a significant reeducation in LBP-associated disability was observed after orthotic intervention (P-value 0.004).

CONCLUSION

Lumber orthosis plays a significant role in LBP and associated disability mitigations in sufferers of LBP.