Physical risk factors for low back pain among young sedentary individuals - A prospective study

Abstract

Aims: To find the relationship of several physical risk factors on the occurrence of low back pain (LBP) over a period of 6 months among young sedentary individuals. Settings and Design: Yenepoya University, Mangaluru, India; prospective cohort design. Methods and Material: In this study, total number of 187 students of Yenepoya University, aged 18 to 30 years, with the international physical activity questionnaire (IPAQ) score of less than 600 metabolic equivalent (MET) minutes /week were recruited through convenience sampling. Participants were assessed for body mass index (BMI), hamstring and iliopsoas muscle tightness, abdominal and back muscle strength and endurance, and trunk range of motion (ROM) at baseline. All measurements were taken by using standardized procedures. Statistical Analysis Used: Frequency distribution, Karl Pearson's correlation test by SPSS. Results: The Logistic regression analysis showed that there was a significant positive correlation between low back pain and trunk flexion ROM with odds ratio of 1.671 (P < 0.001), LBP and trunk extension ROM with odds ratio of 1.602 (P < 0.001), LBP and abdominal endurance with odds ratio of 1.602 (P < 0.001), LBP and BMI of overweight with odds ratio of 1.534 (P < 0.001), LBP and BMI of obese with odds ratio of 1.429 (P < 0.001). Conclusions: The study shows that there is a statistically significant correlation between trunk flexion and extension ROM, abdominal muscle endurance and BMI of obese & overweight category with low back pain, among young sedentary individuals.