INTRODUCTION
Costs for the treatment and rehabilitation of chronic low back pain (LBP) represent a great part of the yearly expenses in the healthcare system [1]. Research activities in this area increased in the past years, but the synergy of factors leading to LBP can not be fully explained. It is a complex construct: Single trails with a necessarily high number of subjects can only investigate some selected parameters. The inhomogeneity in the study designs leads to a limited validity of systematic reviews and meta analysis trying to combine the results of those single trails.
METHODS
As a first step a systematic literature review is in process, which investigates the synergy of physical parameters indicating LBP. Focusing on an available data set, this literature search will obtain information about norm values and the influence of the following selected parameters on the development of LBP: muscle strength, flexibility, physical capacity, body weight, body composition (e.g. BMI), blood pressure, coordination, somatotype, body height, gender and age.
In the second step a Mega Trail will examine a consistently growing data set with more than 500.000 subjects to proof, if the literature based assumptions can be verified and quantified.
PRELIMINARY RESULTS
The systematic literature search for LBP in the databases pubmed, SportDiscus, Web of Science and Cochrane Library resulted in 8228 articles.
The dataset contains currently 559.905 subjects, 280.058 women and 279.847 men. The average age of the female subjects is 39.0±11.7yrs, the male subjects are 45.5±13.0yrs. Within the sample, 10.827 subjects state the presence of LBP. First results support the literature, that women are more likely to develop LBP [3]. 62% of the subjects suffering from LPB are female.
Another risk factor is age and BMI. The main risk group of LBP is 40–59yrs old and has a normal BMI [3]. The female subjects in our dataset with LBP are 39.5±12.6yrs with a BMI of 25.8±5.2 and the male subject are 44.7±13.2yrs with a BMI of 27.1±4.2. This indicates a very good dataset for studying the dependency on risk factors of LBP.
OUTLOOK
Based on the given parameters and the perceptions of the literature review the structure of a multidimensional radar chart will be created. The analysis of the influences of each single parameter and the interaction between the dependent variables will be quantified by the Mega Trail and are still ongoing.
The resulting preventive profile might be used as early-warning system to identify the risk for LBP.
References
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INTRODUCTION
Costs for the treatment and rehabilitation of chronic low back pain (LBP) represent a great part of the yearly expenses in the healthcare system [1]. Research activities in this area increased in the past years, but the synergy of factors leading to LBP can not be fully explained. It is a complex construct: Single trails with a necessarily high number of subjects can only investigate some selected parameters. The inhomogeneity in the study designs leads to a limited validity of sys...
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