Mental Imagery Enhances Proprioception in Patients With Low Back Pain

Effect of Mental Imagery in Improvement of the Repositioning Accuracy and Proprioception in Patients With Low Back Pain

Mental imagery has been used in a variety of pathological instances in support to classical therapeutic treatments. The aim of the present study was to observe the effect of internal Kinesthetic and external Visual Imagery to improve proprioceptive feedback in low back pain. Fifty-five subjects with a history of low back pain were included in two experimental groups who used mental imagery and one control group who did not. The results showed the effectiveness of the Internal Kinesthetic Imagery to improve the accuracy of repositioning of lumbo-sacral spine that may subsequently improve the quality of the proprioceptive input. The possibility to use effectively mental imagery, as a part of proprioceptive rehabilitation process, is the principal outcome of this study.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Subjects suffering from common non-specific low back pain

Exclusion Criteria:

• Recent history of inner ear infection causing associated balance or coordination problems
• History of cerebral trauma followed by unresolved neurosensory symptoms
• Recent history of vestibular disorder and previous spinal surgery
• An involvement in specific balance or stabilization training during the 6 months prior testing. Patients taking pain medication were excluded from the study.