Summerizing - Essay Example

Of the 20 patients in each group 11 of the group was female and 9 were male. The patients with chronic lower back pain were between the ages of 44.2 and 10.6 years with an activity level of about 2.5 to 2.9 hours per week. The control subjects were between the ages of 39.8 and 12.7 years and had an activity level of about 3.4 to 2.8 hours per week (SPINE Volume 25, Number 19, p 2489, VAS). The method that was used was to make the subjects stand with their legs and pelvis immobilized and then to bent the trunk to a predetermined target position and then attempt to replicate the position.

Repositioning error was then calculated, multiple target positions were tested and trunk positions were measured. For subjects to be eligible subjects had to report an average pain level in the previous week of at least 5 on a scale of 0 to 10 and control subjects could have no history of lower back pain that lasted longer than three months. The results of the study showed a significant difference in RE between the two groups. The group with lower back pain had higher RE (repositioning error) in flexion (P =0.036) but lower RE in extension (P = 0.015). There was no noted difference between right and left lateral bending ( P = 0.12 and 0.46, respectively).

There was no remarkable difference found in RE between Male and Female participants, physical activity, age of participants, or target position ( SPINE, Volume 25, Number 19, p 2490, 2000). Newcomer’s study lacked the findings of a difference between the right and left lateral bending and could not easily be explained. Newcomer’s study also consisted of only standing positions, therefore not testing repositioning error on subjects with lower back pain. Another study conducted by Gill and Callaghan aimed at discovering whether there was any difference in the position sense between a group of twenty individuals with back pain for greater than one