Background and purpose: Weakness in trunk muscles and deep trunk muscles such as multifidus is amongst the key factors resulting in back pain. Therefore, strengthening these muscles is important in improving back pain. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of stabilization exercises on pain intensity, functional disability, pain and cross sectional area of multifidus muscles in patients with nonspecific chronic low back pain (LBP). Materials and methods: A clinical trial was performed in 30 women including 15 who were suffering from chronic LBP (experimental group) and 15 healthy women without any history of LBP (control group). The experimental group had 12 weeks (three times a week) stabilization exercises and the control group was given no intervention. Pain intensity, functional disability and multifidus cross sectional area were measured using visual analog scale, Oswestry disability questionnaire and ultrasonography, respectively before and after the intervention. Results: Paired t-test showed that all variables significantly improved in the experimental group (P<0.05). Between groups analysis at baseline indicated a significant difference between the experimental and the control group on cross sectional area of multifidus (P<0.05). After the intervention, there was no significant difference between the two groups on cross sectional area of multifidus (P>0.05). Conclusion: The results indicated the stabilization exercises as an effective intervention in improving pain, functional disability and cross sectional area of multifidus in patients with CLBP. Further larger-scale studies are needed to support the results of the current study.

Keywords: Stabilization exercises, chronic low back pain, pain intensity, functional disability, multifidus muscle, ultrasonography

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