Effects of Stabilization Training, Connective Tissue Massage and Fascial Distortion Model in Chronic Low Back Pain: A Narrative Review

Aim: To comparatively examine and synthesize studies investigating the effects of stabilization exercise training, connective tissue massage, and fascial distortion model on functional mobility, transversus abdominus activity, lumbar joint position sense, lumbar joint range of motion, body awareness, pain intensity, and disability in patients with chronic low back pain. Summary of the review content: Stabilization training is a combination of education and exercise designed to help patients with low back pain improve their strength, flexibility, endurance, and coordination. Connective tissue massage is a manual technique that manipulates connective tissue reflex zones with shear forces to reduce pain, restore autonomic nervous system balance, and produce segmental and suprasegmental reflex effects on the visceral and hormonal systems. The fascial distortion model describes and treats musculoskeletal disorders through six model-specific fascial distortions based on patients' hand gestures, basic physical movement tests, and the characteristics and mechanism of injury. The literature was searched through Google Scholar, PubMed, and Semantic Scholar on November 11, 2024. The search was based on stabilization training, connective tissue massage/manipulation, fascial distortion model, functional mobility, transversus abdominus activity, joint position sense/error, range of motion, body awareness, pain severity, and disability. This narrative review examined clinical trials, case reports, and systematic reviews. According to a few studies in the literature, connective tissue massage or stabilization training in patients with chronic low back pain showed significant improvements in transversus abdominis activation, lumbar multifidus muscle thickness, joint position sense, pain, lumbar mobility, functional mobility, disability, well-being, quality of life, quality of sleep, and medication use, while no study investigating the effect of the fascial distortion model was found. ; Aim: To comparatively examine and ...