title: Determining the pain-affecting factors of university students with nonspecific low back pain.
abstract: [Purpose] This study was conducted on university students with nonspecific low back pain in order to determine the independent variables that affect their pain. [Methods] A total of 514 students were included in this study. Pain was evaluated using a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). A special form was prepared in order to evaluate the following independent variables: gender, weight, height, Body Mass Index (BMI), working periods sitting straight (television, computer, seminar, etc.), working periods bending at a table (reading, writing, etc.), using lumbar support while sitting, the mean duration of pain within the last one year, type of pain, time of the pain, faculty, class, physical activity habits and smoking. The collected data were evaluated using the CHAID (Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detection) analysis method. [Results] The working hours bending at a table, physical activity, height, weight, BMI and educational departments were found not to affect the severity of the pain. The pain severity was affected by the duration of pain complaints within the last one year, the duration of working staying upright, smoking, classes, usage of lumbar support and age variables. [Conclusions] The results of this study show that nonspecific low back pain of university students is affected by many factors such as smoking, class, age, using a computer and lumbar support.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, School of Health Science, Dumlupinar University, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ferruh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Taspinar
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, School of Health Science, Dumlupinar University, Turkey.
authors.forename: Betul
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Taspinar
authors.affiliation: School of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Pamukkale University, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ugur
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Cavlak
authors.affiliation: Sedat Tas Rehabilitation Centre, Turkey.
authors.forename: Erdal
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Celik
keywords: Back pain; Risk factors; University students