A Movement System Impairment Approach to the Evaluation and Treatment of a Patient with Persistent Spinal Pain Syndrome: A Case Report

Background Persistent spinal pain syndrome (PSPS) can be caused by a variety of causes, making it difficult to provide effective treatment. In this regard, various interventions such as neuro-mobilization and myofascial release therapy have been proposed recently, but further research is required due to the diverse patient characteristics. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to apply diagnosis and intervention based on the Movement system impairment (MSI) approach to PSPS patients and to propose the MSI approach as a method for treating PSPS patients. Study design Case report Observations The patient is a 17-year-old male PSPS patient with ongoing symptoms of pain, numbness, and weakness following a laminotomy. The patient had been experiencing symptoms for 6 months, which were aggravated by sitting or standing for more than 10 minutes. Based on the MSI approach, the patient was diagnosed with radiculopathy. The patient performed an exercise program consisting of MSI-based exercises to relieve his symptoms. After treatment, the patient's pain at rest and with activity improved to 0 on a visual analog scale, and his overall muscle weakness improved to mostly normal. Functional movement assessments showed recovery of functional movement of the lumbar-pelvic-hip complex between trunk flexion and extension. Conclusions This study shows that diagnosis and treatment based on the MSI approach is effective for patients with PSPS.