Comparison of yoga and dynamic neuromuscular stabilization exercise in chronic low back pain on magnetic resonance imaging of lumbar multifidus- protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Degeneration of Lumbar muscle in chronic low back pain (CLBP) is characterized by an increase in fat infiltration of paraspinal muscle, decrease in the cross-sectional area (CSA) of lumbar multifidus muscle (LMM) and increased thickness of Thoracolumbar fascia (TLF) by 25%. The study objective is to compare the effects of yoga and dynamic neuromuscular stabilization (DNS) exercise on CSA, fat infiltration of LMM with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and TLF thickness using musculoskeletal ultrasound imaging (MSK-USI) in CLBP.

Methods: One hundred and forty-four participants with CLBP, which persisted longer than three months, will be recruited for this trial.