Effectiveness of motor control exercises with and without whole-body vibration on pain, postural stability, and trunk muscle activation in individuals with nonspecific low back pain: a randomized controlled trial

Purpose The benefits of motor control-based therapeutic exercise and its combination with whole-body vibration in individuals with nonspecific Low Back Pain (NSLBP) are not well established.Methods Seventy-five females with NSLBP were randomly assigned to control, motor control, and combination groups. The experimental group received 3 therapeutic exercise sessions per-week for 8 weeks. The pre- and post-intervention measurements used in the current research included trunk muscle activation, the VAS, and postural stability assessments.Results The results indicated a decrease in the center of pressure path length in both the anterior-posterior and medial-lateral directions, a drop in pain, and an increase in all studied muscle activation following the intervention in the freestyle lifting task in the motor control and combination groups (p < 0.05). However, post-hoc analysis revealed no significant difference between the motor control and combination groups at post-test in any of the measured parameters (p > 0.05).Conclusion Both motor control exercises and their combination with whole-body vibration effectively improve pain, postural stability, and trunk muscle activation in individuals with NSLBP. Effects were generally comparable, with the combination offering only a slight additional pain reduction. Motor control exercises alone may be sufficient, while the combination can be an alternative.