Journal of rehabilitation medicine : official journal of the UEMS European Board of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine
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Comparative Study
Disability, pain, psychological factors and physical performance in healthy controls, patients with sub-acute and chronic low back pain: a case-control study.
To compare measures of disability, psychological factors, pain and physical performance in healthy controls, and patients with sub-acute and chronic low back pain. To evaluate the concept of the deconditioning syndrome and to explore factors that may contribute to chronicity. ⋯ The results suggest a stepwise deterioration of impairment and disability from healthy controls to patients with chronic low back pain. Most variables distinguished between healthy controls and patients with sub-acute or chronic low back pain. Deconditioning was more related to psychophysical measures of abdominal and back muscle endurance than to cardiovascular fitness. Comparable scores for fear-avoidance and working ability in the 2 patient categories suggest that these factors appear at an early stage and contribute to the transition from acute to chronic low back pain.