Introduction: Lower back pain is one of the most common causes of disability in humans and the most common reason for sickness absence. As the population ages and life expectancy increases, we can expect the number of people with low back pain to increase. Functional magnetic stimulation is a form of magnetotherapy that is also used in physiotherapy. Due to improvements in technology, it is only in the last decade that its potential effects in the treatment of low back pain have been reported. Purpose: The aim of this thesis was to conduct a pilot study to evaluate the effect of functional magnetic stimulation on pain intensity, functional performance, posture and quality of life in patients with low back pain. Methods: 16 patients, mean age 55.7 years, participated in the study. They had five consecutive therapeutic sessions with functional magnetic stimulation. Before the first treatment, each subject underwent a physiotherapeutic examination, postural assessment, assess pain intensity, functional capacity and quality of life. The intensity assessment was performed before and after functional magnetic stimulation therapy, and the other assessments were performed after therapy. The assessments were performed at the first, third, fifth and fortnightly follow-up. Results: The parameters assessed in posture improved statistically significantly (p < 0.05). After each FMS treatment, pain intensity decreased statistically significantly (p < 0.05). After the third treatment, the difference in pain intensity scores was sufficient to confirm a minimal clinically significant change. There was a 7.5 point change in functional capacity scores from baseline to final measurements. The overall quality of life score decreased statistically significantly over the observation period (p = 0.00003). According to the Pareto principle, 12 patients improved, 3 patients were uncomparable and one patient deteriorated. Discussion and conclusion: The results showed that functional magnetic stimulation therapy significantly improved posture, reduced pain intensity, improved functional capacity and quality of life in patients. The effects of functional magnetic stimulation therapy lasted up to two weeks after the end of the sessions, suggesting more lasting effects of functional magnetic stimulation therapy. In the future, it would be worthwhile to carry out a larger sample study, including both women and men.
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