• Margareth Lorena Alfonso-Mora, Miriam Guerra-Balic, Ricardo Sánchez-Martín, Zandra Pedraza-Gómez, José Ramírez-Moreno, Adriana Lucía Castellanos-Garrido, Leidy Katerin Zambrano-Cristancho, and María Leonor Rengifo Varona.
• Universidad de La Sabana, Chía, Colombia.
• Ann. Med. 2023 Jan 1; 55 (2): 22653792265379.

IntroductionThe 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 MethodsMixed 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.ResultsBoth 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.ConclusionBoth 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.

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