Is recurrent low back trouble associated with increased lumbar sagittal mobility?

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Orthopedics
• Physical Therapy

Background:

• Low back pain is a prevalent condition with multifactorial causes.
• Lumbar sagittal mobility is hypothesized to influence the risk of recurrent low back trouble.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between lumbar sagittal mobility and recurrent low back pain.
• To examine this relationship in young females with recurrent back pain and middle-aged adults with sciatic symptoms.

Main Methods:

• Lumbar flexibility was measured using a flexicurve to assess back surface curvatures.
• Mobility was recorded in the upper (T12-L4) and lower (L4-S2) lumbar regions.
• Comparisons were made between groups with and without low back trouble or sciatic symptoms.

Main Results:

• Young females with recurrent back pain showed slightly less, but not significantly, reduced lumbar mobility compared to controls.
• Young males with recurrent trouble exhibited a statistically significant loss of lumbar mobility.
• Middle-aged adults with recurrent sciatic symptoms had significantly reduced lumbar mobility.

Conclusions:

• The general hypothesis that increased lumbar sagittal mobility is a risk factor for recurrent low back trouble was not supported.
• Reduced lumbar mobility was significantly associated with sciatic symptoms in middle-aged adults and recurrent trouble in young males.
• Further research into localized segmental instability and abnormal coupled motions may be warranted.