Introduction and Objective: Unexplained back pain can lead to mobility limitations and disrupt the daily life of elderly individuals, weakening both physical and psychological functioning and affecting their quality of life. McKenzie exercises have been shown to be beneficial in improving back pain. The purpose of this study was to examine the quality of life and the level of back pain in elderly individuals after an eight-week period of McKenzie exercises.
Methodology: Among the target population, 24 elderly women from Mashhad, aged 60 to 70 years, with non-specific chronic back pain, were purposively selected and randomly divided into two equal groups: control and experimental. The McKenzie exercises were performed for eight weeks, with three sessions per week, each lasting between 30 to 45 minutes. Quality of life was assessed using the SF-36 questionnaire, and pain levels were measured using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Data analysis was performed using the Shapiro-Wilk test to check for normal distribution, ANCOVA for between-group comparisons, and paired t-tests for within-group comparisons.
Findings: The results showed that the experimental group had significant improvements in quality of life (P = 0.0001) and a reduction in pain levels (P = 0.0001), while no significant changes were observed in the control group.
Conclusion: McKenzie exercises can lead to reduced back pain and improved quality of life, particularly for individuals with non-specific chronic back pain. This study suggests that learning McKenzie exercises may be an effective method for improving quality of life and reducing back pain in the elderly.