From Impairment to Disability: Unveiling Predictors for Movement Control Impairment Subgroup of Nonspecific Low Back Pain.

OBJECTIVE

To identify the factors influencing the functional disability among individuals with the movement control impairment (MCI) subgroup of nonspecific chronic low back pain (NSCLBP).

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

SETTING

Outpatient department of physiotherapy under a rehabilitation institute.

PARTICIPANTS

The study recruited 66 individuals (N=66) with NSCLBP related to the MCI, specifically with sagittal plane impairment, based on the eligibility criteria.

INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: After adjusting for potential confounders, the multiple linear regression analysis was performed by regressing the functional disability on a subset of predicting variables such as sagittal lumbosacral (L5-S1) intervertebral rotation and translation motions, pain intensity, fear-avoidance beliefs, and health-related quality of life (physical and mental health).

RESULTS

Individuals with MCI had moderate to severe functional disability with a mean score of 41.41% (SD, 9.69). Multivariable linear regression analysis showed that factors such as high values of pain intensity (B=3.57; t=4.10) and L5-S1 translation motion (B=1.76; t=2.50) alongside low values of L5-S1 rotation motion (B=-0.71; t=-2.72), physical health (B=-0.57; t=-3.53), and mental health (B=-0.38; t=-4.54), all account for 62.1% (adj. R²=0.621) of the overall variance in functional disability among individuals with MCI, excluding the fear-avoidance beliefs.

CONCLUSIONS

The functional disability among individuals with the MCI subgroup of NSCLBP is predicted by pain intensity, sagittal L5-S1 intervertebral motions, and health-related quality of life, whereas fear-avoidance beliefs do not. Mental health is the strongest predictor of disability, followed by pain intensity, physical health, and sagittal L5-S1 intervertebral rotation and translation motions among individuals with MCI. This highlights the importance of addressing these factors to manage disability among individuals with MCI effectively.