Abstract
BackgroundPrevious studies have indicated that trunk muscle strength decreases with chronic low back pain, and is associated with poor balance, poor functional performance, and falls in older adults. Strengthening exercises for chronic low back pain are considered the most effective intervention to improve functional outcomes. We developed an innovative exercise device for abdominal trunk muscles that also measures muscle strength. The correlation between muscle weakness, as measured by our device, the presence of chronic low back pain, and decreased physical ability associated with a risk of falling were evaluated in older women.MethodsThirty-eight elderly women, who could walk without support during daily activities and attended our outpatient clinic for treatment of chronic low back pain, knee or hip arthritis, or osteoporosis, were included in this study. Anthropometric measurements were performed. Grip power and one-leg standing time with eyes open were measured, and abdominal trunk muscle strength was measured using our device. History of falling in the previous 12 months was noted. Subjects with chronic low back pain (visual analog scale score ≥ 20 mm) for over 3 months were assigned to the low back pain group (n = 21). The remaining subjects formed the non-low back pain group (n = 17).ResultsAbdominal muscle strength of subjects in the low back pain group, and with history of falling, was significantly lower compared with that of subjects in the non-low back pain group, and in subjects without a history of falling, respectively. There was a moderate positive correlation between abdominal trunk muscle strength and one-leg standing time with eyes open.ConclusionWe measured abdominal muscle strength in older women with chronic low back pain using our device, and it was significantly lower than that of those without chronic low back pain. Muscle weakness was associated with a history and risk of falling.
Highlights
Previous studies have indicated that trunk muscle strength decreases with chronic low back pain, and is associated with poor balance, poor functional performance, and falls in older adults
There were no differences between the Low back pain (LBP) and non-LBP groups with regards to age, anthropometric measurements, grip power, one-leg standing time, or history of falling (Table 2)
Abdominal trunk muscle strength as measured by our device was significantly lower in the LBP group than in the non-LBP group (5.1 ± 2.4 kPa versus 7.1 ± 3.2 kPa, P < 0.05; Table 2)
Summary
Previous studies have indicated that trunk muscle strength decreases with chronic low back pain, and is associated with poor balance, poor functional performance, and falls in older adults. Strengthening exercises for chronic low back pain are considered the most effective intervention to improve functional outcomes. The correlation between muscle weakness, as measured by our device, the presence of chronic low back pain, and decreased physical ability associated with a risk of falling were evaluated in older women. Exercise therapy is widely used as a treatment for chronic LBP (CLBP) [7,8,9,10]. Some systematic reviews demonstrated that muscle strengthening exercise had a beneficial effect over other interventions in the treatment of CLBP [10, 11]. A substantial proportion of elderly patients with severe CLBP cannot continue the prescribed exercise regimen due to a loss of flexibility and/or deformity in the spine or muscle weakness in the trunk and/or extremities [12, 13]
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