Value of Lumbar Lordosis and Back Pain in the Female Population Over 50 Years of Age

Abstract

Introduction: In highly developed societies, back pain is a fairly common phenomenon, and its causes are usually multifactorial. Backaches can be caused by improper body posture, anatomical conditions, overloads, inflammation and many other factors. Changes in the shape of the spine in the sagittal plane, such as shallowing or deepening physiological curves translate into a change in the distribution of forces acting on individual parts of the spine, overloading the axial organ of movement. Aim: The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between the individual variants of lordosis (hypolordosis, hyperlordosis, norm) and pain experienced by women in the area of the lumbosacral spine (L/S). Material and Methods: The study group was a population of women over 50 (n = 277), divided into three subgroups, i.e. women with: normal, shallow and deepened lordosis, evaluated in the sagittal view in computed tomography imaging studies. Results: Deepened lordosis is associated with the highest BMI = 27.30 but a rather low average pain value (VAS = 4.60), which approximately corresponded to the severity of the discomfort in the group of women with normal lumbar lordosis. Shallow lordosis correlates with a lower BMI = 26.60 and the highest level of pain (VAS = 6.67). When the lordosis angle was normal, the pain was the lowest. Conclusions: The size of the lordosis angle may be a predictor of the occurrence of pain. A larger lumbar lordosis angle correlates with a higher body weight but pain in this group of women occurs with similar intensity as in the group of women with a normal lumbar lordosis angle.The research results indicate a strong correlation (p <0.0229) between shallow lordosis and the severity of pain experienced by the examined women, which should be taken into account when planning treatment.