Physical loading and performance as predictors of back pain in healthy adults A 5-year prospective study

Abstract

We investigated muscle strength, aerobic power, and occupational and leisure-time physical loading as predictors of back pain in a 5-year follow-up study. A cohort of 456 adults aged 25, 35, 45 and 55 years, free of back pain, participated in measurements of anthropometric characteristics, aerobic power and muscle strength characteristics at baseline. The subjects' levels and types of physical activity and occupational physical loading were also determined. At 5 years after the baseline examinations 356 of these subjects (78.1%) were reached by mail, and 262 of them (73.6%) properly completed and returned a questionnaire including a detailed back pain history for the 5 years following the baseline measurements. Of this number 56 subjects (21%) who reported back pain (> 30 on a scale from 0 to 100) and functional impairment during the 5-year follow-up composed the marked back pain group. Other subjects (n = 71, 27%) noting lesser symptoms were included in the mild back pain group; 135 subjects (52%) reported having had no back pain. The subjects with marked back pain were on average taller than the subjects without back pain, while no such difference was found in body mass. Heavy occupational musculoskeletal loading (P = 0.005) and high general occupational physical demands (P = 0.036) predicted future back pain. Leisure-time physical activity, aerobic power or muscle strength characteristics were not predictive of future back pain.

Tall stature, overweight and the prevalence of low back pain in Chinese middle-aged women

“…1,13,14,16 Our results conform to this pattern, where height was not correlated with the occurrence of LBP among middle-aged women. Tall people might be forced to work in awkward or bent positions in their occupation, leading to LBP.…”

“…These factors are widely considered to be important determinants of risk for LBP in women. 10,13,14,19,20 Socio-demographic background included age (in years), highest education level attained (at least some secondary level vs with or below some primary level), work status (housewife vs working part-time or full-time), occupation (or spouse's occupation) and marital status (married vs nonmarried). Age was based on the reported date of birth on identi®cation card or self-reported and de®ned as the age at the time of examination.…”

“…Previous studies reveal only a weak association between tall stature and LBP. 13,14 The association with stature has been shown in studies of men, 3,13,14 but not in women. 15,16 The current case ± control study examines the relationship between the occurrence of LBP and its risk factors among Hong Kong middle-aged women.…”

Prevalence of low back pain in different educational levels: a systematic review

“…One possible cause for the higher prevalence of LBP among people with medium and low educational levels could be that these people are exposed to different workloads and work activities than people with high educational levels [34][35][36][37][38].…”

Comment to “Adult back health: retainment and work-related predicting factors in a 5-year perspective” by T. Reigo et al

“…The few long-term population-based studies available have focused on groups with back pain and not on the group without back disorders [7,9,16].…”