Manual Therapy With Cryotherapy Versus Manual Therapy With Kinesio Taping for Males With Lumbar Discopathy: A Pilot Randomized Trial

Context . Numerous modalities of therapeutic interventions exist for lumbar discopathy. Manual therapy is one option, although its effectiveness remains controversial. The addition of cryotherapy to manual therapy may enhance the health benefits in patients with lumbar discopathy. Objective . The study intended to evaluate the efficacy of manual therapy combined with cryotherapy vs manual therapy combined with Kinesio taping for males with lumbar discopathy. Design . The research team designed a pilot randomized trial with concealed allocation, assessor blinding, and intention-to-treat analysis. Setting . The study occurred in the Physiotherapy Outpatient Department of the Regional Hospital (Zywiec, Poland). Participants . The participants were 40 males with lumbar discopathy, aged 30-75 y, who were patients in the department at the hospital. Intervention . The participants were randomly assigned to an intervention group that received Kaltenborn-Evjenth orthopedic manual therapy (KEOMT) combined with cryotherapy, the KEOMT-C group (n = 20), or to a control group that received KEOMT combined with Kinesio taping, the KEOMT-K group (n=20). The participants in both groups received 10 treatments, 2 per wk for 5 wk. Outcome Measures . The primary outcome was measured using a visual analog scale and the Laitinen scale pain ratings. The secondary outcome measured the quality of life using the short form-36 questionnaire. The participants completed the tests at baseline and postintervention. Results . After the treatments, the intervention group had significantly lower scores than the control group for pain as well as significantly higher scores for quality of life. Conclusions . Patients achieved better health benefits from manual therapy when it was combined with cryotherapy.