Comparative Effects of Spinal Mobilization With Leg Movement, and Mechanical Traction in Lumbar Spine Radiculopathy.

June 10, 2026 updated by: Riphah International University

Comparative Effects of Spinal Mobilization With Leg Movement, and Mechanical Traction on Pain, Lumbar Mobility and Functional Disability in Patients With Lumbar Spine Radiculopathy.

Recruitment: Individuals with the lumbar spine radiculopathy diagnosis will undergo screening to determine their eligibility based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Eligible participants will be asked for their informed consent. Enrollment: Participants will receive a unique identifying code to maintain confidentiality and be formally enrolled in the study upon obtaining informed consent. Following that, they will have baseline evaluations for outcome factors such as numeric pain rating scale, Oswestry disability index, and modified-modified Schober test. After completing the baseline evaluation, participants will be divided into two groups: Group A will receive the Mulligan's spinal mobilization with leg movement, while Group B will receive mechanical lumbar traction. Every participant will get treatment for four weeks, with three sessions per week. At the conclusion of the intervention period, a post-intervention assessment will be carried out.

Study Overview

Status

Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Recruitment: Individuals with the lumbar spine radiculopathy diagnosis will undergo screening to determine their eligibility based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Eligible participants will be asked for their informed consent. Enrollment: Participants will receive a unique identifying code to maintain confidentiality and be formally enrolled in the study upon obtaining informed consent. Following that, they will have baseline evaluations for outcome factors such as numeric pain rating scale, Oswestry disability index, and modified-modified Schober test. After completing the baseline evaluation, participants will be divided into two groups: Group A will receive the Mulligan's spinal mobilization with leg movement, while Group B will receive mechanical lumbar traction. Every participant will get treatment for four weeks, with three sessions per week. At the conclusion of the intervention period, a post-intervention assessment will be carried out. Randomization: Random allocation of participants into the two groups, Group A and Group B, will be performed by a lottery method. The participants of Group A will be managed by Mulligan's spinal mobilization with leg movement while in Group B, participants will receive mechanical lumbar traction. The physiotherapists will provide both interventions during a specified period. Blindness: A single blinded study in which patients will be blinded.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

30

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • Punjab Province
      • Lahore, Punjab Province, Pakistan, 54000

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Middle Age 25 to 50 years
  • Both male and female of middle aged
  • Subacute or chronic lumbar radiculopathy lasting 4 to 12 weeks
  • Clinically diagnosed lumbar spine radiculopathy
  • Pain radiating from lumbar region to the leg in one or more dermatomal distribution of the lumbosacral nerve root
  • Moderate functional disability as indicated by Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) >20%
  • Willing to participate and provide written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Acute pain (<4 weeks)
  • Contraindications to manual therapy or traction such as spinal instability
  • significant musculoskeletal conditions, cerebrovascular accidents, psychiatric illness, or major systemic illness
  • Neurological compromised, other radicular pain (e.g., piriformis syndrome, diabetic radiculopathy, vascular impingement of the sciatic nerve)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Spinal Mobilization With Leg Movement
Group A: Mulligan's spinal mobilization with leg movement with Conventional Therapy Patient Position: The participants were positioned in a side-lying position on their unaffected side, close to the edge of the treatment table. Therapist Position: The affected leg was supported by therapist B and extended with a slight abduction of 10° at the hip and a knee flexion of 45°.Application of Technique: Therapist A applied and sustained a transverse glide of the spinous process toward the floor. The participants actively moved the leg into the SLR with therapist B's assistance. The L4 vertebra was selected if the participant had an L4/L5 lesion. Therapist A carefully assisted the participants to perform active SLR in a gliding position with the help of therapist B to avoid symptom recurrence during movement. If pain recurred, the participant was instructed to relax and hold the position for 3 s, and then return to the starting point(29).
Active Comparator: conventional therapy
5 minutes conventional therapy with patient education will be given to participants of both groups according to the severity of their condition along with allocated intervention. This includes; directional preference exercises (e.g., McKenzie), core activation exercises, trunk and hip muscles strengthening and neurodynamic mobilization if nerve symptoms persist.
Group B: Mechanical Lumbar Traction with Conventional Therapy Patient Position: Patient position supine (lying on the back) with hips and knees flexed (pillows under the knees). However, prone (lying on the stomach) positioning can also be utilized, particularly when the patient experiences discomfort or when targeting anterior structures of the spine. Traction Technique: Mechanical lumbar traction is a technique that uses a machine to apply a controlled, distracting force to the lumbar spine. This can help relieve pressure on the spinal nerves, reduce muscle spasms, and improve spinal alignment. It's typically performed using a traction table and harnesses to gently pull the lower body away from the upper body. Duration: For lumbar traction, sessions usually range from 20 to 30 minutes, with a frequency of several times per week(30). Warm Up: 5minutes warm-up will be given before intervention to participants of both groups.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
numeric pain rating scale
Time Frame: Baseline to 4 weeks
NUMERIC PAIN RATING SCALE (NPRS) The Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) is a validated tool used to measure pain intensity. Patients will be asked to rate their current pain severity on a scale from 0 to 10. Scoring can be obtained by calculating the mean score over a period of time or by tracking individual scores
Baseline to 4 weeks
Lumbar Mobility
Time Frame: Baseline to 4 weeks
OSWESTRY DISABILITY INDEX (ODI) The ODI is a ten-item questionnaire that assesses how back pain affects the patient's ability to perform daily activities of life (ADL). It is a reliable and valid self-reported questionnaire that lasts 5 min for the patient to complete the measure and a few minutes for the examiner to calculate the scores. Each item is scored from 0 to 5, and the summation of the ten scores is stated as a percentage of the maximum score; therefore, it ranges from 0 (no disability) to 100 (maximum disability)
Baseline to 4 weeks
Functional Disability
Time Frame: Baseline to 4 weeks
MODIFIED MODIFIED SCHOBER TEST (MMST) The Modified Modified Schober Test (MMST) is a clinical assessment of lumbar spine mobility where two marks are made on the patient's back-one at the midpoint between the posterior superior iliac spines (PSIS) and another 15 cm above it. The patient then bends forward maximally, and the increase in distance between the marks is measured; a normal increase is ≥5 cm, while reduced expansion suggests restricted lumbar flexion, as seen in conditions like ankylosing spondylitis, degenerative disc disease, or radiculopathy.
Baseline to 4 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Tazeem Afzal, Ms, Riphah International University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

June 2, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

August 6, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

September 4, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 8, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 10, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

June 11, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

June 11, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 10, 2026

Last Verified

June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • REC/RCR & AHS/25/0212

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

nill

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on Lumbar Radiculopathy

Clinical Trials on Spinal Mobilization With Leg Movement

Search Similar Trials