Maturitas
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Handgrip strength is associated with, but poorly predicts, disability in older women with acute low back pain: A 12-month follow-up study.
Older women with low back pain (LBP) constitute a special subpopulation at risk of severe and permanent disability. It is important to identify factors limiting functionality in this population in order to reduce costs and improve both prevention and intervention. Handgrip strength (HGS) is a biomarker of aging associated with several adverse health outcomes, but long-term associations with disability in older patients with LBP are not known. ⋯ Caution is needed regarding the use of HGS as a predictive measure of disability in older women with acute LBP. Changes in gait speed were very small and unlikely to be of clinical relevance.