Lower limb muscle strength is associated with disability in non-specific chronic low back pain

Abstract

Low back pain is one of the most common health problems that affects daily living activities of most people at some time in their lifetime. Non-specific chronic low back pain (NS-CLBP) can be seen in 85-95% of the population. Although it is known that disability and lower limb muscle strength are affected in patients with NS-CLBP, no study investigated the relationship between these variables. The aim of this study was to identify association between disability and lower limb muscle strength in these patients. 79 patients with NS-CLBP were enrolled. The strength of knee extensor and ankle dorsiflexor muscles were measured using a hand-held dynamometer. The disability was assessed using Oswestry Disability Index. Spearman correlation analysis revealed that there were negative significant correlations between Oswestry Disability Index score and right knee extensor muscle strength, left knee extensor muscle strength and left ankle dorsiflexor muscle strength (r=-0.290, p=0.009; r=-0.408, p<0.001; r=-0.285, p=0.011, respectively). This study showed that lower limb muscle strength was associated with disability in patients with NS-CLBP. Physiotherapy interventions such as resistance training to increase the strength of knee extensor and ankle dorsiflexor muscles may be beneficial in improving disability in patients with NS-CLBP.

Keywords

• low back pain
• disability
• muscle strength
• lower limb

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