Effects of Retro-Walking Along With Core Stabilization in Non-specific Chronic Low Back Pain Patients

The aim of this study is to find the effects of retro walking along with core stabilization on pain, disability and balance in non-specific chronic low back pain patients. Randomized controlled trials will be done at Railway general hospital, Rawalpindi and Care plus medical center, Islamabad. The sample size was 42. The subjects were divided in two groups, 21 subjects in group A will undergo retro-walking along with core stabilization and 21 in group B will undergo only core stabilization exercises. Conventional physical therapy protocol will apply to both groups. Sampling technique applied was purposive nonprobability sampling technique. Only 25-40 years individual with chronic low back pain were included. Tools used in the study are visual analogue scale, Oswestry Disability Index and G&B app. Data will be analyzed through Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 21.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Low Back Pain, Chronic
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Retro walking and Core stabilization; Other: Core Stabilization

Detailed Description

Low back pain is defined as the pain that typically originates above the inferior gluteal folds and below the costal margins. Low back pain is divided into specific low back pain that refer to the pain that originates due to any pathology and can be spinal or non-spinal in origin. Non-specific low back pain is refer to the pain that persist without any identifiable cause such as tumor, infection, osteoporosis, fracture, cauda- equina syndrome, radicular pain and inflammatory disorders. It is highly reported musculoskeletal condition and represents a considerable health concern world-wide and also the leading cause of disabilities and can be occur in any age group which imposes burden both economically and socially on individuals as well as health care system. Non-specific low back pain is further divided into: acute (<3 months of duration) and chronic (>3 months of pain duration). Low back pain is multifactorial in nature i.e. it can be biomechanical, neurological or psychological. Every individual once in life must encounters low back pain. Several risk factors are associated with low back pain such as genetic predisposition, superfluous dynamic or static loading, excessive bending and twisting movements, poor postural alignment, obesity, lack of physical activity, stress and anxiety. Several treatments are recommended for patients with low back pain including medication, short waves, infiltration, or blockade. Exercise therapy consists of a vast range of interventions such as aerobics, movements to improve flexibility and strength, stretching, stabilization, coordination and balance training. These treatment options are effective, but we want to explore techniques which are feasible and cost effective for patients of chronic low back pain.

Retro-walking, which is also known as retro-pulsion, or backward walking is proving to be valuable therapeutic technique in rehabilitation. This method first practiced in ancient China to work on physical fitness and well-being of clients. Retro- walking is different in its gait pattern from forward walking, for example speed and stride length decreased and cadence increased. It is confirmed that flexibility of hamstring is increased by retro-walking in healthy individuals. The gait pattern in retro-walking involves the leg swings backward with the knee bent. The toe touches the ground initially and then the knee gradually straightens up as the foot makes full contact with the ground. Retro-walking also helps in improvement of spinal alignment which can be disturbed due to low back pain. In contrast, core stabilization has been widely used in treatment of chronic low back pain. Several studies have observed that weakness of lumbar multifidi and transverse abdominis muscle and delayed tonic activation of these muscles during gait and movement can be the cause of chronic low back pain. Decreased functioning of these muscles can be the cause of lumbar instability, increase in stress and loads of the surrounding structures in lumbar spine. Core stability exercises are used to regain normal muscles functioning which can help in lumbar stability, neuromuscular control within the lumbar region and it also prevents shear forces that can cause injury to the lumbar spine.

According to the literature, Ansari et al. assess the effects of retro-walking and conventional physiotherapy treatment on students' with low back pain. After 1 month of the treatment flexion range of motion of lumbar spine showed no significant changes between two groups but pain and balance of the group introduced with retro-walking showed a significant improvement. Dr. RP Panday conducted a study aimed at investigating the effects of retro walking verses core stabilization exercises on pain and function in the patients with mechanical low back pain. Pain and disability reduction is seen in both groups, but better results are observed with retro walking. PR Parikh et al. conducted a study on effectiveness of forward walking versus retro walking on Balance, Gait speed and Lower body functional strength among the elderly population. The result of this study shows significant improvement in balance, gait and lower body functional strength both with forward and backward walking, but backward walking shows better results. Azeem et al. assessed the effects of retro walking on pain, functional disability, quality of life and sleep problems in patients with chronic low back pain. years. After 3 weeks of intervention there is a significant decrease in pain observed in both groups but the group introduced with retro walking showed a better improvement. SS et al. conducted a research on effect of retro walking on pain, functional disability and performance in knee osteoarthritis patients . After 6 weeks of intervention it showed that the group with retro walking showed significant improvement. Su Su Hlaing et al. conducted a study on effect of core stabilization and strengthening exercises on proprioception, balance, muscle thickness and pain related outcomes in with chronic low back pain. After interventions of 4 weeks the group which introduced core stabilization shows better result than strengthening exercises.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 42
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Imran Amjad, PhD; Phone Number: 03324390125; Email: Imran.amjad@riphah.edu.pk

Study Locations

• Pakistan
  • Islamabad
    • Islamabad, Islamabad, Pakistan, 44000
      • Care Plus Medical Center
      • Contact: Fawad Khan, Graduation; Phone Number: 03225533413; Email: Fawadullah612@gmail.com
  • Punjab Province
    • Rawalpindi, Punjab Province, Pakistan, 00666
      • Railway General Hospital
      • Contact: Muhammad Affan Iqbal, Phd*; Phone Number: 03336754837; Email: affan.iqbal@riphah.edu.pk

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Subjects of either gender.
• Age range of 25-50 years.
• Subjects with non-specific chronic low back pain (more than 3 months).
• Subjects with VAS score equal or more than 5.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Subjects with acute injury of spine.
• Subjects with ankylosing spondylitis.
• Patients with referred pain.
• Subjects with operative history of spine or hip.
• Pregnant females or child birth for less than 6 months.
• Subjects with any systemic disease or TB of spine.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Retro-Walking and Core Stabilization; Retro walking training along with core stabilization and TENS and Moist Heat	Other: Retro walking and Core stabilization; Retro walking group completed 10 min of retro walking training with 5-min warm-up and cool-down sessions 3 days a week for 6 weeks. The participants were instructed to gradually increase their walking time up to 30 min over the 6-week period. Core stabilization: With the patient in a supine position, core stabilization exercises will begin with basic activation techniques. In the first week and second week, the patient will perform Transverse abdominis drawing-in and Multifidus contraction with 2-5 seconds hold, 10 reps and 1 set. As week progress (3-6 weeks), same exercises with addition of bird-dog, bridging, plank with 10-30 seconds hold, up to 30 reps and 2 sets will be introduce. In the warm-up and cool-down sessions, the subjects were instructed to perform heel raise exercises, ankle toe movements, and gastrocnemius-soleus and hamstring stretches.
Active Comparator: Core Stabilization; Core stabilization along with TENS and Moist heat	Other: Core Stabilization; With the patient in a supine position, core stabilization exercises will begin with basic activation techniques. In the first week and second week, the patient will perform Transverse abdominis drawing-in and Multifidus contraction with 2-5 seconds hold, 10 reps and 1 set. As week progress (3-6 weeks), same exercises with addition of bird-dog, bridging, plank with 10-30 seconds hold, up to 30 reps and 2 sets will be introduced. The participants in core stabilization group will undergo exercise program 3 times a week and for a duration of 6 weeks.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
G&B App	Changes from baseline Gait and Balnace app was developed for smart phone built-in sesor to capture structrued movement data during standing and walking activites. The app collects motion data for six standardized tasks based on clinical gait and balance protocols: Standing on a firm surface - eyes open Standing on a firm surface - eyes closed Standing on foam - eyes open Standing on foam - eyes closed Walking straight ahead Walking straight with head turns It produces numerical outcomes per task. It has no single score or risk level. It outputs raw numeric metrics for each domain. Researchers interpret these numeric outcomes relative to research context.	6 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Visual Analouge Scale	Changes from the baseline, it is a common tool measure subjective intesnsity of pain. Its value ranging from 0 to 10 in which 0 means no pain, mild pain (1-3), moderate pain (4-6), and severe pain (7-10).	6 weeks
Modified Oswestry Disability Index	Changes from the baseloine, the Modified Oswestry Disability Index consists of 10 sections, each scored from 0 to 5, where higher scores indicate greater disability due to low back pain. Scores from all completed sections are summed to obtain a total raw score and then converted into a percentage by dividing by the maximum possible score (50 if all sections are completed) and multiplying by 100. The resulting percentage reflects the level of disability: 0-20% minimal, 21-40% moderate, 41-60% severe, 61-80% crippled, and 81-100% bed-bound. This scoring system enables objective quantification of functional impairment and monitoring of changes over time.	6 week.

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Riphah International University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Muhammad Affan Iqbal, PhD*, Riphah International University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): February 28, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): May 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 16, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 16, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): March 20, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 20, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 16, 2026
• Last Verified: March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: low back pain; core stabilization; Retro walking
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Organizing Pneumonia; Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Immune System Diseases; Respiratory Tract Diseases; Lung Diseases; Bronchial Diseases; Lung Diseases, Obstructive; Back Pain; Bronchiolitis Obliterans; Bronchiolitis; Bronchitis; Graft vs Host Disease; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Signs and Symptoms; Bronchiolitis Obliterans Syndrome; Low Back Pain
• Other Study ID Numbers: RIPHAH/RCRAHS/REC/02270

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No