T.M.D.N. Ujitha Bandara
Teaching Hospital, Srilanka
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: Physiother Rehabil
Purpose: The sacroiliac joint (SIJ) can be a cause of low back pain and sciatica. The aim of this study was to
assess and introduce a new physiotherapy manipulation intervention for SIJ-related back and leg pain.
Methods: As a double-blinded, randomized trial, we evaluated the short-term therapeutic efficacy of a new
intervention therapy against the current traditional practice. In this study, 60 patients with SIJ-related leg
and back pain were studied. Following the initial assessment of each patient with respect to their perception
of pain and quality of life (QOL), the effect of the treatment was evaluated. Using the visual analogue scale
(annexure 1), perception of pain was assessed before and after the 1st, 2nd and 5th day (3rd day) of treatment.
The instrument used for evaluation of quality of life was SF-36 (annexure1). At the outset of the study, QOL
status was determined using this instrument. After the course of treatment by the assigned treatment method,
each patient was reassessed using the SF-36 at the 5th week following a lapse of 4-week treatment free period.
Except for having to drop out one patient for his failure to keep to the appointment, another 59 patients were
treated successfully.
Result: The results show that the effect is highly significant at α = 0.001(CI 4.3+0.7) for pain reduction and α
= 0.001(CI 1447.5+24.2) for QOL improvement. Of the 59 patients, 100% (n=30) have recovered from pain
with the new treatment after the 3rd visit, while the recovery rate among patients who received the traditional
treatment is 6.8% (n=29) after the 3rd visit.
Conclusion: In this double-blinded intervention study, the new manual therapy technique appeared to be the
choice of treatment and more beneficial to the patients with back pain due to sacroiliac dysfunction than the
traditional treatment. Further study to investigate its benefits with larger population should be encouraged.
Ujitha Bandara continuing her physiotherapy profession in the Teaching Hospital of Kurunegala. Her research field interest includes intervention therapy and also, pain and quality of life (QOL)