Postural alteration, low back pain, and trunk muscle resistance in university students

Abstract

Introduction: Low back pain, the most prevalent musculoskeletal disorder, is common in individuals with postural changes and has a high incidence in university students. Trunk muscle instability and weakness can contribute to the presence of low back pain. However, no research has investigated the relationship between low back pain in conjunction with postural changes and the resistance of the trunk stabilizing muscles. Objective: To analyze the correlation between postural alterations and muscular resistance of the trunk of women with and without low back pain. Methods: Forty university women were recruited and divided into a group with low back pain (n = 20; 20.85 ± 1.69 years) and a group without low back pain (n = 20; 20.05 ± 2.54 years). On the first day, the postural assessment was carried out by photogrammetry with Kinovea software. On the second day, the resistance tests of the trunk flexor and extensor muscles, lateral and ventral plank, bridge, and lumbar traction were performed through the traction dynamometer. Pearson's correlation test was applied to verify the relationship between the analyzed variables, Student's T test was used for comparison between groups, and a significance level of p < 0.05 was adopted. Results: There was no correlation between the variables related to postural changes and muscle resistance tests (p > 0.05). There was a difference between the groups only for the bridge exercise test (p = 0.04) and vertical alignment of the head, left lateral view (p = 0.041), and right lateral view (p = 0.034). Conclusion: This study did not show a direct and significant relationship between postural changes in young university students with and without complaints of low back pain and resistance of the trunk-stabilizing muscles.