Effects of Self-Stretching vs. Gym Ball Exercises for Managing Lower Back Pain Among Young Adult Male Gym Goers: A Randomized control trial

• Nageswari ^[1] ; Raj Chauhan, Dharam ^[1] ; Thillaieaswaran, B. ^[2]
  1. [1] Galgotias University, Department of Physiotherapy, School of Allied Health Sciences, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
  2. [2] Galgotias University, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, School of Computing Science and Engineering, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
• Localización: SAP Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine, ISSN-e 3125-246X, Nº. 6, 2026 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine)
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Introduction: Low back pain was common among beginner gym-goers due to unfamiliar movement patterns, poor technique, and adaptation to equipment. Although self-stretching was a simple, self-directed intervention, its effectiveness compared with guided methods such as Swiss ball-assisted stretching remained unclear.

    Methods: Sixty young adult males (18–30 years) with less than six months of gym experience and mild to moderate low back pain were randomly allocated to either a self-stretching group (Cat-Cow, Seated Forward Bend, Child’s Pose, Standing Hamstring, and Lower Back Rotational Stretch) or a Swiss ball-assisted stretching group. Both groups underwent a six-week program. Pain intensity, flexibility, and functional mobility were assessed using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Sit-and-Reach test, and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI).

    Results: The self-stretching group demonstrated significantly greater improvements compared with the Swiss ball-assisted stretching group in VAS (p = 0.014), ODI (p = 0.007), and Sit-and-Reach scores (p = 0.008).

    Conclusions: Self-stretching proved to be more effective than Swiss ball-assisted stretching in reducing pain, improving flexibility, and enhancing functional mobility among beginner gym-goers.