Physical Activity Levels After Functional Resistance Training Program In Subjects With Low-back Pain

The COVID-19 outbreak forced Italian students to reduce their daily activities, inducing a seden-tary attitude that was worsened by distanced learning. This study aimed to survey the physical activity levels that were maintained before and during the social restrictions following the pan-demic, their correlation to musculoskeletal pain, as well as analyzing the impact of these COVID-19 restrictions on pain and fatigue that affects daily life activities. A total of 2044 students completed the online questionnaire, of which the results of 1654 participants were eligible. Before the pandemic, the levels of physical activity were distributed as: 19.9% no activity, 30.1% light ac-tivity, 21.5% moderate activity, and 28.5% high activity. After one year of the pandemic, 30.6% of the participants were inactive, 48.1%, 10.9%, and 10.5% stated as maintaining, respectively, light, moderate and high levels of physical activity. Furthermore, 43.5% reported neck pain and 33.5% stated to experience low back pain. Physical activity levels lower than 150 min/week may have predisposed students to suffer from neck pain (1.95 OR at 95% CI, 1.44–2.64) and low back pain (1.79 OR at 95% CI, 1.29–2.49). A positive correlation between physical activity levels, Verbal Descriptive Scale (VDS), and pain frequency have been observed for neck and low back pain (p-value < 0.05). Finally, low physical activity levels were associated with musculoskeletal pain onset and pain worsening.

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The Effect of Social Isolation During the COVID-19 Pandemic on Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain Who Underwent a Spine Intervention

January 2018 - Pain Physician ◽

10.36076/ppj.2021.24.319 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 319-325

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Low Back Pain ◽

Back Pain ◽

Social Isolation ◽

Chronic Low Back Pain ◽

Activity Levels ◽

Low Back ◽

Spine Intervention ◽

Vas Scores ◽

Spinal Injections

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 infection poses a serious threat to global health for millions of people. In addition to therapeutic treatment methods, preventive measures are also important in controlling the pandemic. As a result, billions of people are quarantined in their homes to prevent the spread of coronavirus. However, social isolation may result in immobility, which can lead to musculoskeletal problems and an increased level of pain, depending on the weakness of the muscles. OBJECTIVES: To examine the effect of social isolation during the recent COVID-19 pandemic on patients with chronic low back pain. STUDY DESIGN: A total of 145 patients who underwent a spine intervention within the past year were enrolled in this prospective and cross-sectional study. SETTING: The study was performed in the interventional pain unit of a tertiary rehabilitation center in Turkey. METHODS: Patient data were obtained by telephone interview and included information pertaining to demographics, pain history, an assessment of pain, analgesic use, activity levels, and an evaluation of stress and sleep habits. Additionally, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was used to evaluate patient activity levels. RESULTS: It was detected that social isolation has increased the intensity of low back pain experienced by patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also found that patients who benefited from spinal injections administered in the prepandemic period experience less severe low back pain (P = 0.000) and took fewer analgesics (P = 0.000) during the pandemic. The findings of our study revealed that there was a significant reverse correlation between IPAQ walking scores and the prepandemic Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores (P = 0.015, r = -0.201) and the pandemic VAS scores (P = 0.000, r = -0.313).By contrast, the level of benefit from injections decreased (P < 0.05) and the duration of spinal intervention was shortened in patients with high IPAQ sitting scores (P < 0.05). LIMITATIONS: The limitations of the study are the small number of patients and the fact that our results are based on patients’ self-reported data. CONCLUSIONS: Social isolation has had an increasing effect on low back pain during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of our study showed a significant relationship between activity level and pain intensity. We also found that patients who have benefited from spinal injections administered in the prepandemic period experience less severe low back pain during the pandemic. KEY WORDS: COVID-19, spine intervention, physical activity, low back pain, social isolation

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Physical activity and disability measures in chronic non-specific low back pain: a study of responsiveness

Clinical Rehabilitation ◽

10.1177/0269215518787015 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 32 (12) ◽

pp. 1684-1695 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Priscila K Morelhão ◽

Márcia R Franco ◽

Crystian B Oliveira ◽

Thalysi M Hisamatsu ◽

Paulo H Ferreira ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Low Back Pain ◽

Back Pain ◽

Physical Therapy ◽

Correlation Coefficients ◽

Activity Levels ◽

Low Back ◽

Physical Therapy Treatment ◽

Activity Measures ◽

Therapy Treatment

Objectives: To compare the responsiveness of disability measures with physical activity measures in patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP) undergoing a course of physical therapy treatment. Design: This is a prospective cohort study with two-month follow-up. Subjects: A total of 106 patients presenting with non-specific CLBP of more than three months duration were recruited. Main measures: Disability measures investigated were Quebec Back Pain Disability Scale and Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire. Physical activity measures analyzed include the Baecke Habitual Physical Activity Questionnaire and objective measures derived from an accelerometer (i.e. total time spent in moderate-to-vigorous and light physical activity, number of steps and counts per minute). Disability and physical activity measures were collected at the baseline and after eight weeks of treatment. For the responsiveness analyses, effect size (ES) and standardized response mean (SRM) were calculated. Correlations between the change in disability and physical activity measures were calculated. Results: Responsiveness for disability measures was considered to be large with ESs ranging from −1.03 to −1.45 and SRMs ranging from −0.99 to −1.34, whereas all physical activity measures showed values lower than 0.20. Changes in disability measures did not correlate with changes in physical activity measures (correlation coefficients ranged from −0.10 to 0.09). Conclusion: Disability measures were responsive after a course of physical therapy treatment in patients with CLBP. The lack of responsiveness in the physical activity measures might be due to the inability of these measures to detect change over time or the use of an intervention not designed to increase physical activity levels.

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High levels of low back disability, but not low back pain intensity, are associated with reduced physical activity: a community-based, cross-sectional study

10.21203/rs.3.rs-74076/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Bothaina Alyousef ◽

Zeinab Kazemi ◽

Flavia M. Cicuttini ◽

Stephane Heritier ◽

Yuanyuan Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Low Back Pain ◽

Back Pain ◽

Pain Intensity ◽

Total Activity ◽

Activity Levels ◽

Low Back ◽

Community Based ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Reduced Physical Activity

Abstract Background Although clinical guidelines recommend physical activity for low back pain (LBP), our understanding of the physical activity undertaken by people with LBP is limited. We examined the amounts, intensities and types of physical activity performed by community-based women with different levels of pain and disability. Methods 542 women were invited to participate. Physical activity was measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, and LBP and disability were assessed using the Chronic Pain Grade Questionnaire. Participants were categorised into no/low or high pain intensity and disability groups. Results Women with high levels of back disability performed half the total physical activity of those with no/low levels of back disability (MET(hours/week): median(95%CI) = 27.3(13.2–41.4) vs. 53.9(44.9–62.8),p = 0.002), including less moderate (17.5(10.4–24.7) vs. 32.1(26.8–37.4),p < 0.001) and domestic and gardening activity (14.4(7.2–21.7) vs. 23.5(19.0–28.0), p = 0.02). Moreover, fewer women with high disability participated in vigorous (3(8.11%) vs. 134(32.0%),OR(95%CI) = 0.17(0.04–0.75),p = 0.02) and leisure activities (17(45.9%) vs. 294(70.2%),OR(95% CI) = 0.44(0.21–0.94),p = 0.03) compared to those with no/low disability. There were no differences in physical activity between women with no/low and high pain intensity (all p > 0.05). Conclusion High levels of back disability, but not back pain intensity, were associated with reduced physical activity, including less total activity, moderate and vigorous intense activity, and discretionary activity. Further work is needed to determine whether targeting these types and intensities of physical activity will help in improving physical activity levels and reducing back disability.

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