Abstract

EFFECT OF SHOCK WAVE ON LOWER BACK MUSCLE SPASM

Abdulaziz Salem Alsorairi* and Dr. Junied

Abstract

Background: A muscle spasm is a sudden violent involuntary contraction of a muscle or group of muscles. It is usually related to a localized skeletal muscle injury from acute trauma and may also stem from disorders such as hypocalcemia, hypokalemia or hyperkalemia, chronic pain syndromes, or epilepsy. Pain and interference with function attend muscle spasm, producing involuntary movement and distortion. When a muscle goes into spasm, it freezes in contraction and becomes a hard knotty mass, rather than normally contracting and relaxing in quick succession. Objective: The aim of the present study is to evaluate the role of shock wave on the treatment of patient with lower back muscle spasm. Methodology: After a verbal explanation of the study protocol, the selected 20 participants were randomly divided into two groups; control group (G1, n = 8) (receive ways to rest the back only) and treatment group (G2, n = 12). Each participant in G2 exposed to shock wave once weekly for 4 weeks along the period of the study (1×1×4). Results: The VAS readings indicated a significant difference at the 1% level (p = 0.003) between the two groups, while the ODQ readings showed no significant difference (p = 0.123). Results showed an improvement across two groups in pain and disability scores. In G1, the average VAS was 6.02cm upon entry to the program and the average ODQ score was 43% before treatment. Six weeks later, average scores were 3.87cm for the VAS and 36% for the ODQ. The average VAS score for G2 was 6.19cm upon entry to the program, and ODQ results showed that the average disability measure pre-intervention was 47%. Four weeks later, average scores stood at 4.07cm and 35.4% for the VAS and ODQ respectively. Conclusion: Exposure to shock wave once weekly has a better effect on improving pain and muscle spasm.

Keywords: muscle, spasm, chronic pain, shock wave, VAS.