Unresolved Controversies in Back Management—A Review

In the past few years there has been an evolution of activity and exercise recommendations for individuals with low back pain. Although many individuals specializing in back-pain management procedures are familiar with this area, there are still in existence a number of exercise and activity protocols which do not reflect pertinent research. The purpose of this study was to synthesize the research in four different areas in which controversy exists relative to low back-pain management; these areas are a) trunk flexion strength, b) trunk flexibility, c) postural considerations in jogging, and d) mechanical aspects of lifting. The authors propose a) an abolishment of an exercise that is commonly used in physical fitness programs, b) a closer examination of the nuances of trunk flexibility testing, c) that jogging can be an appropriate activity even for low back patients, and d) a re-examination of typical clinical lifting recommendations.