Petersson M, Abbott A. Lumbar interspinous pressure pain threshold values for healthy young men and women and the effect of prolonged fully flexed lumbar sitting posture: An observational study. World J Orthop 2020; 11(3): 158-166 [PMID: 32280605 DOI: 10.5312/wjo.v11.i3.158]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Allan Abbott, BSc, MHSc, PhD, Associate Professor, Physiotherapist, Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Division of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University, Sandbäcksgatan 7, Linköping SE-58183, Sweden. allan.abbott@liu.se
Research Domain of This Article
Rehabilitation
Article-Type of This Article
Observational Study
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Petersson M, Abbott A. Lumbar interspinous pressure pain threshold values for healthy young men and women and the effect of prolonged fully flexed lumbar sitting posture: An observational study. World J Orthop 2020; 11(3): 158-166 [PMID: 32280605 DOI: 10.5312/wjo.v11.i3.158]
World J Orthop. Mar 18, 2020; 11(3): 158-166 Published online Mar 18, 2020. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v11.i3.158
Lumbar interspinous pressure pain threshold values for healthy young men and women and the effect of prolonged fully flexed lumbar sitting posture: An observational study
Martin Petersson, Allan Abbott
Martin Petersson, Department of Physiotherapy Gripen, Värmland Country Council, Karlstad SE-65224, Sweden
Martin Petersson, Allan Abbott, Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Division of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping SE-58183, Sweden
Author contributions: Petersson M and Abbott A contributed to the study conception, design and data acquisition, data analysis, interpretation of data, drafting, critical revision and final approval of the manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the ethics board of second cycle education at Linkoping University, Sweden.
Informed consent statement: All study participants, provided informed written consent prior to study enrolment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflict of interests. The authors have no financial interests.
Data sharing statement: Technical appendix, statistical code, and dataset available from the corresponding author at allan.abbott@liu.se. Participants gave informed consent for data sharing of anonymized data.
STROBE statement: This manuscript complies with the STROBE statement for reporting of observational studies.
Corresponding author: Allan Abbott, BSc, MHSc, PhD, Associate Professor, Physiotherapist, Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Division of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University, Sandbäcksgatan 7, Linköping SE-58183, Sweden. allan.abbott@liu.se
Received: November 8, 2019 Peer-review started: November 8, 2019 First decision: December 4, 2019 Revised: February 26, 2020 Accepted: March 5, 2020 Article in press: March 5, 2020 Published online: March 18, 2020 Processing time: 129 Days and 18.7 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background
Exposure to prolonged sitting with a flexed lumbar posture has been suggested in previous literature to be a potential risk factor for self-reported Low back pain (LBP).
Research motivation
No study has previously investigated whether exposure to prolonged flexed sitting posture provokes discomfort in the low back and lowers interspinous pressure pain thresholds for healthy young men and women without previous back pain, despite this being a suggested risk factor for LBP.
Research objectives
To investigate whether sitting in a prolonged flexed lumbar posture provokes discomfort in the low back and lowers the interspinous pressure pain threshold in the lumbar spine for healthy young men and women without previous LBP.
Research methods
An observational study of lumbar interspinous algometry was conducted before and after 15 min of exposure to prolonged flexed sitting posture in 26 healthy participants (13 men, 13 women) between ages 20-35 years who have had no previous low back pain episodes.
Research results
Prolonged flexed sitting posture for up to 15 min provokes temporary discomfort in the lower back. There was a moderate-large decrease in lumbar interspinous pressure pain threshold after exposure for both men and women.
Research conclusions
Fully flexed lumbar sitting posture for up to 15 min provokes temporary discomfort in the lower back in most young health adults and significantly reduced lumbar interspinous pain pressure thresholds
Research perspectives
The study supports prolonged flexed lumbar posture as a potential mechanism provoking discomfort in the low back and lowering pain thresholds which may influence risk of future LBP episodes.
