L’esercizio fisico nel trattamento conservativo del dolore radicolare lombare: proposta di protocollo in uno studio di caso

The purpose of this study is to examine which is the role of physical exercise in conservative treatment to relief lumbar radicular pain. In final analysis, taking inspiration from the protocols in the literature, the aim is to introduce a protocol of adapted physical activity in order to reduce the symptoms given by the chronicity of sciatica, definitely the most frequent cause of lumbar radicular pain. The exercise program has been individualized for a 30 years-old male which, affected by a bulging and a hernia disc protrusion, at L4 / L5 and L5 / S1. He has been suffering from lumbar radicular pain for about 4 years. Under the advice of the doctor, he decided not to undergo surgery. Despite numerous pharmacological and conservative therapies, He has not benefited in terms of quality of life. For this reason, he deci- ded to undertake a conservative treatment therapy based on physical exercise. Outcomes included pain-included pain with lumbar flexion with the visual analogue scale (VAS), and functions measured with the Oswestry Disability Index before and after the intervention. After 10 treatment sessions, the subject reported a reduction in pain intensity from 4/10 to 2/10 on the VAS and from 48% to 4% at the Oswestry Disability Index. This study showed that physical exercise was useful in relieving pain in a patient with lumbar radicular pain.