2.5. Rehabilitation Protocol
The rehabilitation protocol to which the patients in the two groups (Combo and Reha) underwent was the same. It included daily sessions, 5 days a week, with a duration of 60 min, and for a total of 4 consecutive weeks. The rehabilitation protocol provided was carried out under the supervision of an experienced physiotherapist. We proceeded with an initial cardiorespiratory training phase lasting 15 min on a cycle ergometer (produced by Chinesport SPA, Udine, Italy). In the central part of the training, we proceeded with muscle strengthening exercises for the muscles of the trunk and the upper and lower part of the body and stretching exercises of the posterior kinetic chains. Each exercise was performed with 3 sets of 15 repetitions and at an intensity of 60% of the maximum. The third phase of the protocol involved therapy with physical agents, such as transcutaneous electronervous stimulation (TENS) for 20 min by stimulation with biphasic rectangular pulses of 100 microseconds and a frequency of 110 Hz, with a maximum output amplitude of 100 mA; and low power laser for 10 min with a stable, paravertebral, lumbar method with total daily doses of 18 J.