The Effectiveness of Bedtime Exercises on Sleep Quality Parameters and Chronic Nonspecific Chronic Low Back Pain After Sleep in the Elderly Male

The elderly population is increasing, and one of the common problems in the elderly is a sleep disorder. Poor sleep quality causes various musculoskeletal problems, including chronic nonspecific Low back pain. In this regard, this study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of pre-sleep exercises on sleep quality parameters and chronic nonspecific chronic low back pain after sleep in the elderly.

This study was quasi-experimental. A total of 40 retirees over 60 years old of Isfahan University of Technology with a Mean±SD age of 64.52±3.18 years, a weight of 81.99±7.35 kg, and a BMI of 27.91±2.21 in a targeted manner available were selected and randomly divided into two experimental and control groups of 20 people. The Pittsburgh Standard Questionnaire was used to assess sleep quality parameters; the VAS Pain Intensity Questionnaire was used to assess low back pain and the Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire. The exercise program intervention was performed for 28 sessions for 15 minutes. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data; also, the analysis of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures was used. All analyzes were performed using SPSS software v. 24.

 The results showed a significant difference between groups in sleep quality parameters such as mental quality of sleep (P=0.001), delay in falling asleep (P=0.019), duration of sleep (P=0.006), sleep efficiency and effectiveness (P=0.001), sleep disorder (P=0.016), use of sleeping pills (P=0.001), inappropriate performance during the day (P=0.002). The overall sleep quality among elderly males was P=0.001. Also, bedtime exercises can significantly affect nonspecific chronic low back pain parameters such as pain intensity (P=0.039) and disability (P=0.014) in this age group.

 Doing light exercise before bed on a light to moderate basis, according to the exercise program presented in this study, can improve the disability and reduce pain severity. This seems to be one of the most critical problems in old age, namely the quality of sleep and related parameters in the elderly male with nonspecific chronic low back pain. Therefore, it is recommended that the elderly engage in regular exercise.