A previous review concluded that postural sway is increased in patients with low back pain ( LBP ) .
In a minority of studies , a decreased sway was found in LBP patients .
There were no systematic differences between studies finding an effect and those reporting no effect of LBP .
The proportion of studies finding between-group differences did not increase with increased complexity of sensory manipulations .
However , more detailed analysis of the literature shows that postural deficit may be dependent on experimental conditions in which patients with LBP have been assessed .
The research question to be answered in this review was : " Is there any difference in postural sway between subjects with and without LBP across several sensory manipulation conditions ? " .
Differences in static balance and weight distribution between normal subjects and subjects with chronic unilateral low back pain.
Balance reactions are not routinely evaluated in patients with low back pain . The purpose of this study was to determine if there were differences in static balance and weight distribution between subjects with unilateral low back pain ( N = 15 ) and pain-free controls ( N = 15 ) . Measurements included limits of stability ( % LOS ) , target sway , weight distribution on each lower extremity in quiet st and ing , and center of gravity with measurements of maximal excursion in anterior/posterior and medial/lateral directions . Independent t tests were used to compare data between groups . Compared with control subjects , subjects with low back pain demonstrated greater anterior-posterior center of gravity excursion and total center of gravity excursion with eyes open and greater anterior-posterior , medial-lateral , and total center of gravity excursion , target sway , and % LOS with eyes closed . There was no difference in the weight-bearing distribution between groups . This study suggests that static balance in patients with chronic low back pain may be impaired and should be thoroughly evaluated and integrated into physical therapy treatment programs
A previous review concluded that postural sway is increased in patients with low back pain ( LBP ) .
In a minority of studies , a decreased sway was found in LBP patients .
There were no systematic differences between studies finding an effect and those reporting no effect of LBP .
The proportion of studies finding between-group differences did not increase with increased complexity of sensory manipulations .
However , more detailed analysis of the literature shows that postural deficit may be dependent on experimental conditions in which patients with LBP have been assessed .
The research question to be answered in this review was : " Is there any difference in postural sway between subjects with and without LBP across several sensory manipulation conditions ? " .