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Biomechanical Changes Related to Low Back Pain: An Innovative Tool for Movement Pattern Assessment and Treatment Evaluation in Rehabilitation
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[Lifting capacity with low back pain : Discrepancy between self-rated and real lifting capacity in patients with
M Pfingsten1, A Wendt, B Kröner-Herwig
1Schmerz-Tagesklinik und -Ambulanz, Zentrum Anaesthesiologie, Rettungs- und Intensivmedizin, Universitätsmedizin Göttingen, Robert-Koch-Str. 40, 37085, Göttingen, Deutschland. michael.pfingsten@med.uni-goettingen.de
Background:
The fear-avoidance model implies that in situations with physical demands patients with back pain will overestimate the demand and underestimate their own capacities.
Patients And Methods:
A total of 71 patients with back pain and 48 pain-free control subjects carried out a standardized lifting test with a preceding estimation of their lifting capacity.
Results:
In both groups the self-estimation and real lifting capacity were in concordance for most group members with patients showing less disconcordance than controls. In the control group 35% of the subjects even underestimated their lifting capacity, which was the case in only 14% of the patients. Patients more frequently overestimated their capacity than pain-free controls (14% vs. 2%). Within the patients subgroups could be identified where patients in general either underestimated or overestimated their own capacity. A comparison between the groups demonstrated significant differences in pain intensity, fear avoidance beliefs and effort.
Conclusion:
As an explanation for these unexpected results it can be hypothesized that in cases of back pain, patients' attention is focused on pain-relevant issues which enables a more realistic estimation of their lifting capacity.
