Spinal form and function profile. Reference values for clinical use in low back pain

Functional diagnostic approaches are helpful in the treatment of low back pain (LBP) patients. Reference data of asymptomatic individuals might be helpful to understand individual case profiles of LBP patients, to derive movement therapy goals and issues and to improve quality management in therapy monitoring. Spinal form and mobility in the dorsal flexion (static and dynamic rasterstereography), as well as isometric peak forces (back extension/trunk flexion) were analyzed in a cross-sectional study of 103 pain-free volunteers (52 females, 51 males) aged 18-40 years. Reference data could be demonstrated based on percentiles (5-95 %). There were significant differences between males and females for strength values and spinal form parameters describing the lumbosacral transition (p < 0.001), but not for the strength extension/flexion ratio (Ex/Flex), lumbar mobility (dorsiflexion) or any other spine shape parameter. Despite the problem of a normal spinal alignment it is proposed to use reference data percentiles of asymptomatic persons to construct a musculoskeletal functional profile for individual LBP patients, which might emphasize the character of different LBP disorders and could be useful in screening, therapy planning and monitoring.