• Pain Med · May 2017

    Multicenter Study

    Back Stiffness Is Associated with Physical Health and Low Back Pain-Related Disability in Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

    • Jaclyn Megan Sions and Gregory Evan Hicks.
    • Department of Physical Therapy, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA.
    • Pain Med. 2017 May 1; 18 (5): 866870866-870.

    ObjectiveBack stiffness is a common complaint among older adults with low back pain. Nonetheless, self-reported back stiffness has received little exploration in this patient population. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations of self-reported low back stiffness with physical health and low back pain-related disability among older adults with low back pain.DesignCross-sectional analysis.SubjectsData included in this study were obtained from the Retirement Community Back Pain Study, a population-based survey of older adults.MethodsParticipants completed the Medical Outcomes Survey Short-Form 36 and the modified Oswestry Low Back Pain Questionnaire. Physical health, derived from the Short Form-36, was represented by the physical component summary score. Back stiffness was rated on a 0-10 scale, where 0 indicated "no back stiffness."ResultsCovariates-that is, intensity and duration of low back pain, age, sex, weight, education level, and comorbidities-explained 27% of the variance in physical health ( P  < 0.0001) and 38% of the variance in low back pain-related disability ( P  = 0.0002). Self-reported stiffness explained an additional 6% of the variance in physical health ( P  < 0.0001) and 10% of the variance in low back pain-related disability ( P  < 0.0001).ConclusionsBack stiffness in older, community-dwelling adults with low back pain may help explain physical health and low back pain-related disability, above and beyond demographics and pain. Future longitudinal research is needed to evaluate low back stiffness as a predictor of physical health and disability. Ultimately, assessment and treatment of back stiffness in older adults with low back pain may improve patient outcomes.© 2016 American Academy of Pain Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

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