Effectiveness of lumbar manipulation and iliotibial band exercise versus iliotibial band stretching and iliotibial band exercise on iliotibial band tightness

Abstract

The study's purpose was to examine the effectiveness of lumbar manipulation with iliotibial band (ITB) strengthening exercises v. standard ITB stretching and strengthening exercises for reducing ITB tightness. The participants included 32 physical therapy students aged 18-40, who were randomly assigned to one of three groups. Group 1 was assigned ITB strengthening exercises with lumbar manipulation at the level of L5/S1 1x/wk for 8-weeks. Group 2 was assigned ITB strengthening exercises and ITB stretching 1x/day for 8-weeks. Group 3 served as the control. Results of a mixed-model design two-way ANOVA revealed no significant differences between groups, but it should be noted that the manipulation group had the largest within subject effect (significance 0.158, p<0.05), followed respectively by the stretching and control groups (significance 0.206, p<0.05, significance 0.771, p<0.05). This suggests that both manipulation and stretching interventions with concomitant hip strengthening may be beneficial for a patient presenting with ITB tightness.