The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of lumbar stabilization and sling exercise on visual analogue scale (VAS), Korean Oswestry Disability Index (KODI), and stability index (ST) in patients with chronic lower back pain (CLBP). This study included participants with a VAS scale of 6 or higher and a KOD of 20-40%. They were randomly divided into a mat group (n=15) to perform lumbar stabilization exercises and a sling group (n=15) to perform sling exercises, and then they underwent a four-week experiment. The experimental results of this study were as follows: the VAS and KODI showed a statistically significant difference (P<.05) and a larger effect size within each group after the intervention, it exhibited no statistically significant difference between the two groups (P>.05). There were significant differences in ST before and after intervention in each group (P<.05), however there was no significant difference between the groups. The present study suggest that the effects of lumbar stabilization exercise and sling exercise are similar.

The purpose of this study is to identify the effective lumbar area exercise program to prevent falls of the elderly by dividing 14 female elders over 65 living in Daegu into two groups such as resistance exercise group and resistance & stabilization exercise group, and applying a 60 minute exercise program three times a week for 12 weeks. The followings are the results. First, both of resistance exercise and resistance & stabilization exercise brought improvement of lumbar strength and there was no significant difference between two groups. Second, there was no significant difference in lower limb strength in resistance exercise group but resistance & stabilization exercise group showed significant increase in lower limb flexor strength. To make a summary of the above results, it can be said that 12 weeks’ resistance & stabilization exercise is effective to the lumbar strength and lower limb strength of the elderly. Accordingly, if combining resistance exercise and stabilization exercise appropriately, we can build a successful preventive program which even the elderly who cannot perform resistance exercise easily can follow.

The lumbar multifidus muscle, which can be separated into deep fascicles (DM) and superficial fascicles (SM), is important for lumbar segmental stability. However, no previous studies have investigated the effect of lumbar stabilization exercises on the thickness of DM and SM. Thus, the purpose of this study was to assess DM thickness after three different lumbar segmental stabilization exercises. In total, 30 healthy male participants were recruited and randomly assigned to one of three exercise groups: hollowing in the quadruped position (H-Quad), contralateral arm and leg lift (CALL), and bilateral arm and leg lift (BALL). Each lumbar segmental stabilization exercise was conducted over 4 weeks. Ultrasonography was used to compare the DM and SM thickness before and after the 4 weeks of exercise. A mixed-model analysis of variance using Scheffe's post-hoc test was used for statistical analysis. The results showed a significant effect for the measurement time (before vs. after 4 weeks of exercise) in the DM (F=31.26, p<.05) and SM (F=4.56, p<.05). At the end of the 4 weeks, the DM thickness had increased significantly in the H-Quad exercise group, and the SM thickness had increased significantly in the CALL and BALL exercise groups. Also in the BALL exercise group, the SM thickness was greater compared with that in the H-Quad exercise group. These findings suggest that the thickness of the DM and SM were increased by different types of lumbar segmental stability exercise after 4 weeks.