Chronic low back pain and walking speed: effects on the spatiotemporal parameters and in gait variability

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:Walking is described as one of the abilities most affected by chronic low back pain. This study aimed to determine if chronic nonspecific low back pain and walking speed affect the spatiotemporal parameters (stride length, swing time, contact time, stride time, stride frequency and walking ratio) and the coefficients of variation of stride length and contact time. METHODS: Ten participants with chronic nonspecific low back pain (low back pain -LG) and ten healthy participants in the control group (CG) walked on the treadmill at preferred self-selected speed, slower and faster than the preferred speed. Spatiotemporal parameters and coefficients of variation were determined by kinematic analysis. Main effects (group and speed) and their interactions were tested using generalized estimating equations method. RESULTS: Our results showed that there were no significant differences between groups or significant interaction between group and speed factors. There was a speed effect. Stride frequency and length increased while contact and stride time decreased as the speed increased. The walking ratio (stride length/stride frequency) Chronic low back pain and walking speed: effects on the spatiotemporal parameters and in gait variabilityDor lombar crônica e velocidade de caminhada: efeitos nos parâmetros espaço-temporais e na variabilidade da marcha

Agreement, Reliability, and Concurrent Validity of an Outdoor, Wearable-Based Walk Ratio Assessment in Healthy Adults and Chronic Stroke Survivors

“…Leg and back pain have been found to alter walking patterns in older adults and chronic lower back patients, respectively ( Alexander, 1996 ; Al-Obaidi et al, 2003 ; Callisaya et al, 2012 ). Regarding the WR, however, little evidence indicates that there may be no influence of pain ( Thingstad et al, 2015 ; Carvalho et al, 2019 ). Therefore, “pain in the lower extremities and back” was entered in the second model.…”

“…Murakami and his team found this lower limit to be at a gait speed of 1.04 m/s, which is close to our finding ( Murakami and Otaka, 2017 ). Finally, we found that the WR was independent of pain in the lower extremities and back, age and gender, which is in accordance with other reports ( Thingstad et al, 2015 ; Bogen et al, 2018 ; Carvalho et al, 2019 ). The results of these additional analyses speak for the relevance of WR assessments in chronic stroke survivors.…”