Effectiveness of Dorsal Stretching Exercises on Level of Lower Back Pain among Premenopausal Women Residing in Selected Urban Community.

Abstract

Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most prevalent medical complaints, affecting nearly every individual at some point in his or her lifetime. At any given time, it is estimated that up to one-third of the population is experiencing some form of back discomfort that impacts the quality of life by interfering with recreational activities, daily living routines, and a person's ability to work productively. Moreover, it is one of the most common reasons that people seek care from medical providers.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness of dorsal stretching exercises on level of lower back pain among premenopausal women residing in selected urban community.

METHODOLOGY: The researcher used a quantitative research approach in the present study. The research design that is chosen for this study is Quasi experimental non-equivalent control group design. Premenopausal women in selected areas all over Maharashtra during the study period. The sample was comprised of sixty premenopausal women from selected urban community areas in Maharashtra. Non-probability, purposive sampling technique. The setting was an urban community area. The investigator developed the tool after updating knowledge and receiving relevant literature. The researcher used a numerical rating pain scale to assess the level of lower back pain among premenopausal women in selected urban communities.

The main study was also done for 27 days the dorsal stretching exercises were performed on the experimental group of 30 premenopausal women and were not administered to a control group of 30 premenopausal women. The posttest was collected at 27 th day.

RESULT: The analysis of the study was done using descriptive and inferential statistics. The master sheet was prepared and coding of the responses was done. The data was presented in the form of tables and charts. Statistics were performed with the help of paired t-tests, and chi-square tests.

The distribution of respondents according to the pre-test and post-test levels of lower back pain among premenopausal women residing in a selected urban community from the experimental group reveals a significant reduction in pain levels following the intervention. In the pre-test, most respondents (86.67%) experienced moderate pain (04-06), while only 13.33% reported mild pain (1-03).

None of the participants experienced severe pain (07-10) or were pain-free (00). After the implementation of the intervention, the post-test results showed a considerable improvement, with 76.67% of respondents experiencing mild pain (1-03) and only 23.33% reporting moderate pain (04-06). No respondents reported severe pain or no pain. This data indicates that the intervention was effective in reducing the intensity of lower back pain among premenopausal women, with most respondents experiencing mild pain in the post-test as compared to the pre-test.

The distribution of respondents according to the pre-test and post-test levels of lower back pain among premenopausal women residing in a selected urban community from the control group (N=30) indicates a worsening of pain levels over time in the absence of an intervention.  In the pre-test, most respondents (70.00%) reported moderate pain (04-06), while· 30.00% experienced mild pain (1-03). No participants reported severe pain (07-10) or were pain-free (00).  However, in the post-test, the proportion of respondents with moderate pain increased· to 83.33%, while those experiencing mild pain reduced to 10.00%. Notably, 6.67% of the respondents progressed to the severe pain (07-10) category.

These findings suggest that without intervention, the severity of lower back pain tends to worsen among premenopausal women. The increase in moderate and Severe pain levels in the control group highlight the necessity of effective pain management strategies to alleviate lower back pain in this population.

Paired ‗t‘ value of pre and post-test level of lower back pain among premenopausal women residing in selected urban communities in the Experimental group. The statistical analysis of the pre-test and post-test levels of lower back pain in the experimental group revealed a paired t-value of 8.71, which is much higher than the critical XV table value of 2.045 at df = 29. The corresponding p-value for the calculated t-value is 0.001, indicating that the result is highly significant.

This demonstrates a statistically significant reduction in the level of lower back pain among premenopausal women in the experimental group following the intervention. The exceptionally high t-value reflects the consistent decrease in pain levels across all participants, suggesting that the intervention had a strong and uniform effect in alleviating lower back pain. Since the p-value (0.001) is less than 0.05, the null hypothesis (H₀) is rejected, and the alternative hypothesis (H₁) is accepted, confirming that the intervention was effective in reducing lower back pain.

Paired ‗t‘ value of pre and post-test levels of lower back pain among premenopausal women residing in selected urban communities from the control group. The statistical analysis of the pre-test and post-test levels of lower back pain in the control group revealed a paired t-value of 0.16, which is much lower than the critical table value of 2.045 at df = 29. The corresponding p-value for the calculated t-value is 0.87, indicating that the result is not statistically significant.

This demonstrates that there was no significant reduction in the level of lower back pain among premenopausal women in the control group. The very low t-value And high p-value suggest that the intervention had no measurable impact on pain levels. Since the p-value is greater than 0.05, the null hypothesis (H0) is accepted, indicating that there is no significant difference in lower back pain levels between the pre-test and post-test in the control group. Unpaired ‗t‘ value of the post-test level of lower back pain among premenopausal women residing in selected urban communities from Experimental and control groups. The statistical analysis of the post-test levels of lower back pain between the experimental and control groups revealed an unpaired t-value of 5.48, which is significantly higher than the critical table value of 2.001 at df = 58. The corresponding p-value for the calculated t-value is 0.001, indicating that the result is highly significant.

This demonstrates a statistically significant difference in the level of lower back pain between the experimental and control groups following the intervention. The substantial t-value suggests that the intervention was effective in reducing lower back pain among premenopausal women in the experimental group. Therefore, the null hypothesis is rejected, and the alternative hypothesis is accepted. The alternative hypothesis is accepted.