Effect of exercise therapy with Beta medicine ball on directed and general co-contraction of ankle joint muscles in low back pain patients during walking

Introduction and aim: In the past few decades, exercise has been promoted with increasing interest for the treatment of back pain. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of rehabilitation exercises with medicine beta balls on the directional and general contraction of ankle joint muscles in patients with low back pain during walking. Methods: The present study was a clinical trial. The statistical population was patients with low back pain in the age range of 20-30 years in Ardabil in 1399.  Twenty men with low back pain were randomly divided into exercise and control groups. The intervention group performed 12 sessions of strengthening exercises of the central muscles of the body with the beta medicine ball. The activity of selected muscles was recorded during walking pre-and post-test in two groups. A two-way analysis of variance with repeated measures was used for statistical analysis. Results: The results showed that the interactive effect of time and group on the directional contraction values of the ankle joint during the middle phase was significant (P = 0.020). Post hoc test showed that the values of all directional contraction of the ankle joint increased significantly during the middle phase in the experimental group.   Conclusion: Increasing the values of directional contraction after the training period during the middle phase of reliance in the experimental group can be associated with more joint stability and less vulnerability