Mézières Method as a practice of embodiment in patients with low back pain: a mixed study

Abstract

AbstractIntroduction The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of the Mézières Method (MM) on pain and disability related to low back pain (LBP), compared to a program of heat, massage and exercise, and to understand the meaning of the bodily experience with the MM.Patients and methods Mixed methods convergent parallel design, combining an equivalent randomized clinical trial with a qualitative phenomenological approach. Sixty-one participants aged 18–65 years with chronic non-specific LBP lasting more than 3 months. Patients were randomized into two groups: the MM group (n = 29) and the comparison group (CG) who received heat, massage plus flexibility and strengthening exercises (n = 31). MM and CG participants underwent 10 one-hour physical therapy sessions over a 5-week period and were evaluated three times: pre-intervention, post-intervention and follow-up at 6 weeks after the end of treatment.Results Both groups reported positive effects on LBP . MM group showed superior effects in pain relief in the short term (Cohen’s D 0.80; p = 0.004). Participants interpreted the interaction with the MM as a teaching–learning process that allowed body awareness.Conclusion Both treatment were similarly beneficial but MM had superior effects on pain in the short term. MM is perceived by the participants as a teaching–learning process focused on body awareness that facilitate effective management of LBP.

Keywords

• Low back pain
• physiotherapy
• Mézières Method
• mixed study
• practices of embodiment