Pelvic Floor Exercises Versus Swiss Ball Exercises in Patients With Non-Specific Chronic Low Back Pain

May 21, 2026 updated by: Rubina Khalil, University of Lahore

Comparative Effects of Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercises and Swiss Ball Exercises in Patients With Non-Specific Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial

This randomized controlled trial aims to compare the effectiveness of pelvic floor muscle exercises and swiss ball exercises in females with non-specific chronic low back pain. The study evaluates pain intensity, disability, lumbar range of motion, and core muscle endurance following different rehabilitation protocols.

Study Overview

Status

Enrolling by invitation

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Non-specific chronic low back pain is a common musculoskeletal disorder associated with pain, restricted lumbar mobility, and reduced functional capacity. Weakness of core stabilizing muscles contributes significantly to spinal instability and persistent symptoms.

Exercise-based physiotherapy interventions including pelvic floor muscle exercises and swiss ball exercises are commonly used to improve core stability, lumbar mobility, muscle endurance, and pain management.

This randomized controlled trial will compare the effects of:

Baseline physiotherapy alone Baseline physiotherapy combined with swiss ball exercises Baseline physiotherapy combined with pelvic floor muscle exercises

A total of 69 participants will be randomly allocated into three parallel groups. Outcome measures including pain, disability, lumbar range of motion, and muscle endurance will be assessed before and after intervention.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

69

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

  • Pakistan
    • Punjab Province
      • Lahore, Punjab Province, Pakistan
        • University of Lahore

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:

  • Females aged 18-35 years
  • Chronic non-specific low back pain for more than 3 months
  • Restricted lumbar range of motion
  • Positive straight leg raise test
  • Positive femoral nerve tension test
  • Positive slump test
  • Willing to participate in the study

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Previous or planned spinal surgery
  • Pelvic floor surgery or abdominal surgery
  • Pregnancy or postnatal period
  • Urinary incontinence
  • Neurological motor weakness or deformity
  • Spinal stenosis
  • Osteoporosis
  • Disc herniation
  • Degenerative or inflammatory spinal conditions

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
Active Comparator: Control Group (Baseline Physiotherapy)
Participants will receive baseline physiotherapy treatment including heating pad application, stretching exercises, and strengthening exercises.
Other: Baseline Physiotherapy
Baseline physiotherapy includes heating pad application, stretching exercises, and strengthening exercises for lumbar stabilization and pain reduction.
Experimental: Experimental Group (Swiss Ball Exercises + Baseline Physiotherapy)
Participants will receive baseline physiotherapy combined with swiss ball exercises including curl-up, bridging, and front plank exercises.
Other: Baseline Physiotherapy
Baseline physiotherapy includes heating pad application, stretching exercises, and strengthening exercises for lumbar stabilization and pain reduction.
Other: Swiss Ball Exercises
Swiss ball exercises include curl-up, bridging, and front plank exercises performed on a swiss ball to improve core stability, balance, and muscle endurance.
Experimental: Experimental Group (Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercises + Baseline Physiotherapy)
Participants will receive baseline physiotherapy combined with pelvic floor muscle exercises for core stabilization and pain reduction.
Other: Baseline Physiotherapy
Baseline physiotherapy includes heating pad application, stretching exercises, and strengthening exercises for lumbar stabilization and pain reduction.
Other: Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercises
Pelvic floor muscle exercises involve repeated contraction and relaxation cycles of pelvic floor muscles to improve core muscle activation, spinal support, and lumbar stability.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Pain Severity Measured by Revised Short McGill Pain Questionnaire-2 (SF-MPQ-2)
Time Frame: Baseline and 6 weeks after intervention
Pain severity and pain quality will be assessed using the Revised Short McGill Pain Questionnaire Version-2 (SF-MPQ-2).
Baseline and 6 weeks after intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Functional Disability Measured by Oswestry Disability Index (ODI)
Time Frame: Baseline and 6 weeks after intervention
Functional disability associated with chronic low back pain will be measured using the Oswestry Disability Index questionnaire.
Baseline and 6 weeks after intervention
Change in Lumbar Range of Motion Measured by Inclinometer
Time Frame: Baseline and 6 weeks after intervention
Lumbar flexion, extension, lateral flexion, and rotation range of motion will be measured using an inclinometer.
Baseline and 6 weeks after intervention
Change in Core Muscle Endurance Measured by Pressure Biofeedback Unit
Time Frame: Baseline and 6 weeks after intervention
Core muscle endurance including transverse abdominis, quadratus lumborum, and pelvic floor muscles will be measured using a pressure biofeedback unit.
Baseline and 6 weeks after intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Lahore

Collaborators

University of Lahore Hospital (ULH)

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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)

December 11, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

September 11, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

October 11, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 17, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 21, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

May 27, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 27, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 21, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • UOL/IREB/25/15/03/33

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data will not be shared because this study was conducted as an academic research project. The informed consent obtained from participants did not include provisions for public data sharing, and the dataset contains sensitive personal health information. Data will be stored securely and used only for academic and research purposes in accordance with institutional ethics approval.

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.

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