Functional Evaluation Using Inertial Measurement of Back School Therapy in Lower Back Pain

Lower back pain is an extremely common health problem and globally causes more disability than any other condition. Among other rehabilitation approaches, back schools are interventions comprising both an educational component and exercises. Normally, the main outcome evaluated is pain reduction. The aim of this study was to evaluate not only the efficacy of back school therapy in reducing pain, but also the functional improvement. Patients with lower back pain were clinically and functionally evaluated; in particular, the timed "up and go" test with inertial movement sensor was studied before and after back school therapy. Forty-four patients completed the program, and the results showed not only a reduction of pain, but also an improvement in several parameters of the timed up and go test, especially in temporal parameters (namely duration and velocity). The application of the inertial sensor measurement in evaluating functional aspects seems to be useful and promising in assessing the aspects that are not strictly correlated to the specific pathology, as well as in rehabilitation management.