Effects of mat-based pilates and brief education on non-specific low back pain, trunk range of motion and muscle strength among non-teaching staff of Cebu Doctors' University.

     The objective of this study was to determine the effects of Mat-Based Pilates and Brief Education on non-specific low back pain (LBP), trunk range of motion (ROM) and muscle strength among non-teaching staff of Cebu Doctors‟ University. This study utilized an experimental two-group pretest and posttest design, assigning respondents to the Mat-Based Pilates Group and Brief Education Group. The study was conducted in the PDR (room 503-504) located on the 5TH floor at Cebu Doctors‟ University. Fifteen (15) respondents (6 males; 9 females) were selected out of a population of 110 non-teaching employees based on the following inclusion criteria: 21-55 years old, normal to overweight body mass index (BMI), LBP four (4) weeks having a pain rating score between three to eight (3 - 8) for pain scale, a muscle grade of three (3) or four (4) and a trunk flexion ROM of less than 6.9 centimeters. Subjects were randomly assigned to the Pilates Group (n=8) or the Brief Education Group (n=7). Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) ("The Numeric Pain Rating Scale Instructions," n.d.) was used to assess pain; the modified Schober‟s test (Norkin & White, 2009) was used to assess trunk ROM; Manual Muscle Testing of Hislop and Montgomery (2007) was used to assess trunk muscle strength.

     The Brief Education Group was given a seminar on LBP only once at the start of the implementation. The Mat-Based Pilates Group had approximately a one-hour treatment for eight treatment sessions, two (2) times per week for four (4) weeks. The Wilcoxon Signed Rank test was used to determine the difference before and after intervention for pain and muscle strength, while trunk Rom used paired T-test. The p-values for the Mat-Based Pilates Group in regards to pain, trunk ROM, and trunk flexion and extension were .020, .041, .009 and .007 respectively. This means that there was a significant difference between the pretest and posttest values. On the other hand, the Brief Education Group had a p-value of .66, .57, .157, and .024 respectively. The p-values of the Brief Education Group were not considered significantly different, except trunk extensor‟s muscle strength.

     Mat-Based Pilates showed significant effects on low back pain, trunk ROM and flexor and extensor muscle strength among non-teaching staff of Cebu Doctors‟ University. However, the Brief Education Group showed no significant effect on these variables, except for trunk extensor muscle strength. The researchers recommend to the subjects of the study to continue doing the Mat-Based Pilates and incorporate the measures included Brief Education in daily living activities. Researchers would also recommend to the Physiatrists and Physical therapists to incorporate Mat-Based Pilates as an intervention in addressing LBP, improving flexibility and muscles strength and to Pilates practitioners to broaden their professional viewpoint on the effect of Mat-Based Pilates. For further studies the researchers recommend a study on the equipment-based Pilates and to use a randomized control trial design to verify and strengthen the evidence of the effectiveness of Pilates.