The Purpose of this study was to determine the effects of sciatic nerve mobilization on pain and lower back muscle strength in female patients in their 40s who have been diagnosed with lumbar radiculopathy. Using a simple blinded method, 20 female patients with neuropathy in the nerve segments between L4-S1 were randomly divided into one group (n=10) that would undergo sciatic nerve mobilization, and another group (n=10) that would perform lower back segment stabilization exercises. The two groups attended 3 sessions per week, with each session taking 30 minutes, for a duration of 4 weeks. In the preliminary examinations, the pain index as well as the isometric muscle strength of the lower back extensor and flexor muscles were measured. After the passing of 4 weeks. The same method of measurement was used for the concluding examinations. Comparison of the pain indices in the two groups revealed that they both experienced a statistically significant decrease, and further inspection revealed that the there was a more substantial difference in the sciatic nerve mobilization group. Results of comparing changes in the Isometric Muscle Strength lower back muscle and bending muscle by group, In comparison between groups, the isometric strength of the lower back extensor showed a more significant difference in the sciatic nerve mobilization group (p <.05). Conclulsion, it can be inferred that application of sciatic nerve mobilization has a positive effect on the pain index and isometric muscle strength of the lower back in female patients with lumbar radiculopathy in their 40s.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of mobilization of the sciatic nerve on hamstring flexibility, lower limb strength, and gait performance in patients with chronic stroke. This study was a randomized clinical trial with a crossover design. Sixteen subjects were recruited for this study. The subjects were randomly divided into two intervention groups and underwent either of the following two interventions: sciatic nerve mobilization or static stretching of the hamstring. We assessed hamstring flexibility, lower limb strength, and gait performance using a digital inclinometer, a hand-held dynamometer, and the 10-meter walk test, respectively. Subjects had a 24-hour rest period between each session in order to minimize carryover effects. Measurements for each test were assessed prior to and immediately after the intervention sessions. Using a two-way analysis of variance test with repeated measures, data from the two trials were analyzed by comparing the differences between both techniques. The level of statistical significance was set at .05. Sciatic nerve mobilization resulted in significantly better knee extensor strength (p=.023, from 15.32±5.98 to 18.16±6.95 ㎏) and knee flexor strength (p=.011, from 7.80±4.80 to 8.15±4.24 ㎏) in the experimental group than in the control group. However, no significant effects of static stretching of the hamstring were observed on hamstring flexibility from the ankle plantar flexion (p=.966) and ankle neutral positions (p=.210) and on gait performance (p=.396). This study indicated that the sciatic nerve mobilization technique may be more effective in muscle activation of the knee extensor muscle and knee flexor muscle than hamstring static stretching technique in patients with chronic stroke.

This study purposed to examine the effect of low power laser on pain response and axonal regeneration. In order to prepare peripheral nerve injury models, we crushed the sciatic nerve of Sprague-Dawley rats and treated them with low power laser for 21 days. The rats were divided into 4 groups: normal group(n=10); control group(n=10) without any treatment after the induction of sciatic nerve crush injury; experimental group I(n=10) treated with low power laser(0.21mJ/㎟) after the induction of sciatic nerve crush injury; and experimental group II(n=10) treated with low power laser(5.25mJ/㎟) after the induction of sciatic nerve crush injury. We measured spontaneous pain behavior(paw withdrawal latency test) and mechanical allodynia(von Frey filament test) for evaluating pain behavioral response, and measured the sciatic function index for evaluating the functional recovery of peripheral nerve before the induction of sciatic nerve crush injury and on day 1, 7, 14 and 21 after the induction. After the experiment was completed, changes in the H & E stain and toluidine blue stain were examined histopathologically, and changes in MAG(myelin associated glycoprotein) and c-fos were examined immunohistologically. According to the results of this study, when low power laser was applied to rat models with sciatic nerve crush injury for 21 days and the results were examined through pain behavior evaluation and neurobehavioral, histopathological and immunohistological analyses, low power laser was found to affect pain response and axonal regeneration in both experimental group I and experimental group II. Moreover, the effect on pain response and axonal regeneration was more positive in experimental group I to which output 0.21mJ/㎟ was applied than in experimental group II to which 5.25mJ/㎟ was applied.

Peripheral nerve injuries are very common in clinics and often result in severe functional deficits. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of treadmill running and electro-acupuncture on nerve regeneration and functional recovery of muscle activity following sciatic nerve crush injury in a rat model. A comparative study was conducted over 30 days on 60 adult male Sprague-Dawley rats grouped into sham control (C), electro-acupuncture (EA), treadmill (T), and treadmill plus electro-acupuncture (TEA). The left sciatic nerve was crushed for 30 sec using a hemostatic forceps and functional activity was evaluated with sciatic functional tests, nerve conduct velocity, muscle weight, and histology at 10, 20, and 30 days after injury. Muscle weight was significantly (P<0.05) increased between days 10 and 30 in the TEA group. In histology, the degree of damage was scored as C > TEA > T > EA, although necrosis and fibrosis of muscle was observed only in the TEA group. The EA and TEA groups showed rapid recovery with better myelinated axons on day 10. These results suggest that application of the TEA method with balanced exercise is a useful treatment option for peripheral nerve injury regeneration and muscle activity.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of sciatic nerve mobilization technique on perceived pain, straight leg raise test (SLR), and strength of knee extensor, location of symptoms (LOS) in patients with chronic low back pain. 22 patients with chronic low back pain were recruited for this study. The subjects were randomly assigned to either the experimental group (EG) or the control group (CG), with 11 patients in each group. All patients received a routine physical therapy (hot pack and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation). The mobilization technique of the sciatic nerve was performed for 10 min in the case of the EG subjects. Outcome measurements included the level of the perceived pain, SLR, and strength of the knee extensor, LOS. The measurements were recorded 3 times: before the intervention, after the intervention, and at 1 hour of follow up. The two groups did not significantly differ with regard to the level of perceived pain, SLR, and strength of the knee extensor, LOS before the test (p>.05). In the case of the EG subjects, all the variables measured after the intervention significantly differed from those measured before the intervention (p<.05). However, in the case of the CG subjects, a significant difference was noted only with regard to the level of perceived pain (p<.05). The findings indicate that sciatic nerve mobilization technique exerts a positive effect on the control of subjective symptoms and knee strength in patients with chronic low back pain. Further studies are required to generalize the result of this study.