Poster Presentation

Paper ID : 1755-SSRC

¹Department of sport injuries and corrective exercise, Islamic Azad University Tehran Science & Research Branch (Oloom Tahghighat), Tehran, Iran.

²Department of Sport Injuries and Corrective Exercises, Sport Sciences Research Institute, Tehran, Iran.

Background: Lower back pain (LBP) is one of the most common musculoskeletal burden among office workers worldwide. LBP is often the cause of significant physical and psychological health impairments. It also affects work performance and social responsibilities. Developing a validated screening tool helps to apply specific intervention to prevent LBP. Purpose: This 1-year prospective cohort study investigated the screening value of Biering-Sorenson test for predicting LBP among office workers in Tehran city. Methods: One-hundred office workers (n = 100, Males: n=42, age= 41.25 ± 7.66 years, height= 1.70 ± 0.09 m, mass= 75.51 ± 11.78 kg, BMI= 25.77 ± 2.43 kg.m-2) participated in this study. Biering-Sorenson test was assessed before commencing the study. The LBP incidence was recorded during 1-year follow up via phone call every month. Spearman correlation assessed the association between the Biering-Sorenson test and LBP incidence, logistic regression was used to create a model for prediction and the receiving operating characteristics curve analysis assessed the predictive performance of Biering-Sorenson test score for LBP. The statistical significance level was set at p<.05. Results: Significant correlation was found between Biering-Sorenson test and LBP incidence (r = -.514; p < .001). The overall model created via the logistic regression was statistically significant when compared to the null model (X2(1) = 23.754, p˂0.001), this model explained 36 % of the variation of the LBP incidence (meaning that LBP incidence can be explained by this full model), suggesting that predictions are fairly reliable. Furthermore, 75 % of the individuals were correctly classified using the model which is a large improvement. Finally, a receiving operating characteristics curve analysis revealed good diagnostic accuracy for predicting LBP incidence using the Biering-Sorenson test scores (Area Under Curve [AUC]= .817, 95% CI [0.720-0.914]; sensitivity and specificity were 65% and 88% for the cutoff ≤55 seconds). Conclusion: Biering-Sorenson test scores can be used as a screening tool for LBP incidence in office workers in Tehran and appears to have reasonable sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive values, and negative predictive values. Further validation and impact studies of the screening tool in a new population of office workers are suggested.

screening; pre-participation; lower back strength; extensor