title: Low back pain and obesity.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Low back pain poses a significant problem in clinics and public health. It presents one of the main problems with adults, since 70-80% of adults experience it at least once in their lifetime. Causes of the low back pain are numerous and often unknown.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the study is to find the most prevalent age group, pain localisation, and the frequency of physical therapy sessions in obese and non-obese subjects with LBP.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study has been conducted by the Physical Rehabilitation Service of the Occupational Medicine Institute, during one year period. The total number of patients studied was 101 and all were Kosovo Energy Corporation (KEC) employees. The study was retrospective.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Looking at the body weight index, out of 101 patients, 69.3% are classified as non-obese and 30.7% as obese. Using T-Test we have found a difference of high statistical significance between the average number of the physical therapy sessions applied in relation to the examined groups (T-Test=2.78, P=0.0065, so, P<0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Obesity and age have no direct influence in back pain, but they could prolong healing. Professional occupation and binding position are factors that affect back pain. Physical workload can cause the manifestation of sciatica; whereas psycho-social factors can prolong the overall healing process.
authors.affiliation: Occupational Medicine Institute, Obiliq, Kosovo.
authors.forename: Dafina
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ibrahimi-Kaçuri
authors.affiliation: Occupational Medicine Institute, Obiliq, Kosovo.
authors.forename: Ardiana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Murtezani
authors.affiliation: Occupational Medicine Institute, Obiliq, Kosovo.
authors.forename: Shkurta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rrecaj
authors.affiliation: Occupational Medicine Institute, Obiliq, Kosovo.
authors.forename: Merita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Martinaj
authors.affiliation: Occupational Medicine Institute, Obiliq, Kosovo.
authors.forename: Bekim
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Haxhiu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D063826:Kosovo / Q000453:epidemiology; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies
keywords: Low back pain; obesity; physical therapy