Abstract

Background. Lumbar spine pain is one of the most frequent malfunctioning of the locomotor system. The aim of this article was to examine whether there is a co-relationship between the preliminary, subclinical symptoms of pain and the strength and kinesthetic differentiation of deep muscles stabilizing the lumbar spine in the lower section of spine. Material and methods. Appearance of pain in lumbar spine was taken as an independent variable. The average intensity of the ailment was 8.81 points (±3.68) in the Oswestry scale in 52 subjects. The second group composed of 48 persons who, at the time of the examination, felt no pain in the low back. Both groups were matched regarding the basic parameters: age, body weigh, height, level of physical activities and sex. Results of tests carried out with the use of pressure stabilizer in the supine and prone positions constituted the dependent variables. Results. Statistical analysis showed that there are significant dependencies between the presence of pain and strength and kinesthetic differentiation in the prone position. No such dependencies were registered in the supine position. Conclusions. Weakness of the deep stabilizing muscles is characteristic for persons with perceived minor lumbar spine pain. The ability to differentiate pressure force is also disturbed. It seems that an examination performed in a prone position is useful in detecting the above changes.

Key words:

Low Back Pain, muscular stabilization, Proprioception