Ergonomics
-
Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Effects of chronic low back pain, age and gender on vertical spinal creep.
This study investigated the effect of chronic low back pain, age, gender, and time of measurement on the magnitude of vertical spinal creep (VSC) and its recovery. A mixed design, involving three independent variables (chronic low back pain, age, and gender) and one repeated variable (time), was used. One hundred and six subjects of both genders, with and without chronic low back pain, aged between 20 and 60 years, participated in the study. ⋯ A significant interaction was found between chronic low back pain and gender at the end of the unloaded phase (p=0.04). These findings suggest a combined influence of chronic low back pain, age, and gender on VSC and its recovery and that the dominance of each variable changed with the time of the measurement. Thus, subjects who differ in the presence of chronic low back pain, age, and gender should not be combined for statistical analysis of VSC and its recovery.