Isometric trunk muscle strength and body sway in relation to low back pain in young adults.
METHODS
A cross-sectional study on young adults.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the relationships between low back pain (LBP), maximal isometric trunk muscle strength, and body sway among young adults.


BACKGROUND
The results of previous studies evaluating the association between trunk muscle strength and LBP are conflicting and heterogeneous. Furthermore, there are only few studies on the association between body sway and LBP.


METHODS
The subjects (n = 874) belonged to a subcohort of the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 (mean age 19 years). Trunk muscle strength and body sway were measured from all subjects. LBP symptoms were inquired with a questionnaire, which was completed concurrently with the examinations. Latent Class Analysis (LCA) was used to cluster the subjects according to their LBP symptoms.


RESULTS
LCA analysis produced 6 clusters differing with respect to LBP symptoms. There were no statistically significant differences between the clusters in trunk muscle strength or body sway.


CONCLUSIONS
LBP does not seem to be associated with maximal isometric trunk muscle strength or body sway in young adults.
Department of Sports Medicine, Deaconess Institute of Oulu, Oulu, Finland. nikopaal@mail.student.oulu.fi
Niko
N
Paalanne
Raija
R
Korpelainen
Simo
S
Taimela
Jouko
J
Remes
Pertti
P
Mutanen
Jaro
J
Karppinen
D000328:Adult; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D007537:Isometric Contraction; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D053580:Muscle Strength; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D004856:Postural Balance; D012107:Research Design; D012585:Sciatica / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015983:Selection Bias; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires