Sagittal posture monitoring offers limited use in identifying back pain causes

Due to inconsistencies observed between males and females, sagittal posture monitoring had limited usefulness as a screening tool to identify the causes behind back pain and other quality of life measures in the general adult population, according to researchers.

In a prospective study, the researchers evaluated the sagittal standing posture of 178 males and 311 females using 36-inch standing radiographs. Back pain and severity were assessed based off of self-reported data.

The researchers found that severe back pain was significantly more prevalent in men with low pelvic tilt/pelvic incidence; however, there were no differences found for the other sagittal radiographical parameters. Females with high pelvic incidence were more likely to have severe back pain, as were females with high sacral slope.

Physical quality of life in males decreased as sagittal vertical axis increased; however, this trend was insignificant, the researchers said. In women, sagittal vertical axis demonstrated the largest differences in physical quality of life measures but was no longer statistically significant once the researchers adjusted for age, education and body mass index.

Disclosure: The authors have no relevant financial disclosures.

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Source:

Araújo F. Spine. 2014. doi:10.1097/BRS.0000000000000347.