Abstract
Background and objectives: Low back pain is one of the most common health problems. In 85% of cases, it is not possible to identify a specific cause, and it is therefore called Non-Specific Low Back Pain (NSLBP). Among the various attempted classifications, the subgroup of patients with impairment of motor control of the lower back (MCI) is between the most studied. The objective of this systematic review is to summarize the results from trials about validity and reliability of clinical tests aimed to identify MCI in the NSLBP population. Materials and Methods: The MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, and MedNar databases have been searched until May 2018. The criteria for inclusion were clinical trials about evaluation methods that are affordable and applicable in a usual clinical setting and conducted on populations aged > 18 years. A single author summarized data in synoptic tables relating to the clinical property; a second reviewer intervened in case of doubts about the relevance of the studies. Results: 13 primary studies met the inclusion criteria: 10 investigated inter-rater reliability, 4 investigated intra-rater reliability, and 6 investigated validity for a total of 23 tests (including one cluster of tests). Inter-rater reliability is widely studied, and there are tests with good, consistent, and substantial values (waiter’s bow, prone hip extension, sitting knee extension, and one leg stance). Intra-rater reliability has been less investigated, and no test have been studied for more than one author. The results of the few studies about validity aim to discriminate only the presence or absence of LBP in the samples. Conclusions: At the state of the art, results related to reliability support the clinical use of the identified tests. No conclusions can be drawn about validity.
Highlights
Low Back Pain (LBP) is one of the most frequent health problems causing absenteeism and disability, and it is the most expensive diagnosis in the Western World [1,2,3]
The database research identified 1203 articles, while 8 others have been identified with free research in the bibliographies of relevant studies for a total of 1211 articles; 180 articles were deleted because they were duplicated, resulting in 1031 basic articles as a partial result
At the time only prone knee bend and the one leg stance were indicated by the author as useful because they were presented in one study with a low risk of bias
Summary
Low Back Pain (LBP) is one of the most frequent health problems causing absenteeism and disability, and it is the most expensive diagnosis in the Western World [1,2,3]. The objective of this systematic review is to summarize the results from trials about validity and reliability of clinical tests aimed to identify MCI in the NSLBP population. Results: 13 primary studies met the inclusion criteria: 10 investigated inter-rater reliability, 4 investigated intra-rater reliability, and 6 investigated validity for a total of 23 tests (including one cluster of tests). The results of the few studies about validity aim to discriminate only the presence or absence of LBP in the samples. Conclusions: At the state of the art, results related to reliability support the clinical use of the identified tests.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
