Comparison of Cardiorespiratory fitness of Nigerians with Low back pain and apparently Healthy Adults

Abstract

The objective of this study was to compare Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) of Nigerians with low back pain (LBP) and apparently healthy counterparts. A total of Seventy (70) subjects participated in the study; 35 of them were low back pain patients, while the remaining 35 were apparently healthy adults. For low back pain group 22 (62.9%) of them were chronic low pain, while 13 (37.1%) were acute low back pain. Cardiorespiratory fitness of the subjects was determined using Cooper's 12 – minute walk. Student t-test showed a statistical significant for cardiorespiratory fitness (t = 0.006) between LBP subjects and apparently healthy adults. However, there was no statistical significant difference in Cardiorespiratory fitness between acute low back pain and chronic low back pain subjects (t = 0.06). There was least positive correlation between low back pain and cardiorespiratory fitness (r =0.40). It was concluded from this study that apparently healthy adults had higher cardiorespiratory fitness level than low back pain subjects and there was significant correlation between back pain and cardiorespiratory fitness. Health enlightenment campaign to prevent and minimize complications of LBP is needed and fitness program should be incorporated in the management of low back pain subjects. KEY WORDS: Caridorespiratory fitness, low back pain, acute, chronic and exercise. Nigerian Journal of Health and Biomedical Sciences Vol.3(2) 2004: 105-107