What question did this study set out to answer?

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of combined extracorporeal shock wave therapy for managing chronic low back pain and its effects on pain and lumbar function.

March 13, 2026

Combined Application of Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy, Core Stability Exercise, and Anti-Inflammatory Drug Therapy in the Management of Chronic Low Back Pain: A Clinical Study

Key Points

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of combined extracorporeal shock wave therapy for managing chronic low back pain and its effects on pain and lumbar function.
Retrospective controlled study involving 200 chronic low back pain patients divided into two groups.
One group received combined therapy (shock wave, exercise, anti-inflammatory drugs) while the control group received exercise and anti-inflammatory drugs.
Main indicators included VAS and ODI; secondary indicators were SF-36, BBS, HADS, PSQI, IL-6, and TNF-α collected at pretreatment and 4 & 12 weeks posttreatment.
The combined therapy group showed significantly lower VAS, ODI, HADS, and PSQI scores compared to the control group after 4 and 12 weeks (P < 0.05).
The combined group had higher SF-36 and BBS scores than the control group after treatment (P < 0.05).
The recurrence rate of pain after 12 weeks was significantly lower in the combined therapy group (P < 0.05).

Abstract

Background Chronic back pain is a common adult musculoskeletal disorder globally, causing lumbar dysfunction, sleep issues, and psychological anxiety. Yet current single-treatment plans have many limitations. Objective This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of extracorporeal shock wave-based combined therapy for chronic back pain, analyze its impact on pain and lumbar function, and provide clinical evidence for multimodal treatment. Method This retrospective controlled study (September 2023–September 2025) enrolled 200 chronic low back pain (CLBP) patients from the Hospital, divided into two groups ( n = 100 each). The combined group received extracorporeal shock wave + core stability training + anti-inflammatory drugs, whereas the control group received exercise + anti-inflammatory drugs. The main indicators include Visual Analog Scale (VAS) (pain) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) (lumbar function), and the secondary indicators include Short Form 36 (SF-36) (quality of life), Berg Balance Scale (BBS) (posture control), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) (anxiety and sleep), serum IL-6, and TNF-α. Data were collected pretreatment and 4 and 12 weeks posttreatment, and a 12-week recurrence rate was recorded. Result No significant variations were observed in the baseline data of the two patient groups ( P > 0.05). Following 4 and 12 weeks of treatment, two key differences emerged: First, the combined group had significantly lower values in VAS/ODI/HADS/PSQI scores and serum inflammatory factors (IL-6, TNF-α) than those of the control group ( P < 0.05); second, the combined group's SF-36 and BBS scores were significantly higher than those of the control group ( P < 0.05). Additionally, after 12 weeks of follow-up, the pain recurrence rate in the combined therapy group was significantly lower than that in the control group ( P < 0.05). Conclusion The combination of extracorporeal shock wave therapy, core stability training, and anti-inflammatory drugs significantly alleviates pain, improves lumbar function/quality of life, reduces inflammation, and lowers long-term pain recurrence in CLBP treatment.

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