Is assessing trunk muscle endurance in military with sub-acute and chronic low back pain clinically meaningful?

Benoit Pairot de Fontenay; Marc Perron; Chantale Gendron; Pierre Langevin; Jean-Sébastien Roy

doi:10.3389/fspor.2023.1173403

Is assessing trunk muscle endurance in military with sub-acute and chronic low back pain clinically meaningful?

Front Sports Act Living. 2023 May 11:5:1173403. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2023.1173403. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Benoit Pairot de Fontenay^{1

2}, Marc Perron³, Chantale Gendron^{3

4}, Pierre Langevin^{3

5}, Jean-Sébastien Roy^{3

6}

Affiliations

¹ University of Lyon - University Claude Bernard Lyon 1, EA 7424 - Inter-University Laboratory of Human Movement Science, Villeurbanne, France.
² Ramsay Santé, Clinique de la Sauvegarde, Lyon, France.
³ Department of Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, Laval University, Quebec City, QC, Canada.
⁴ Canadian Forces Health Services Group, Valcartier Garison, Quebec City, QC, Canada.
⁵ Physiothérapie Interactive, Quebec City, QC, Canada.
⁶ Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation and Social Integration, Quebec City, QC, Canada.

Abstract

Introduction: Trunk muscle endurance (TME) tests are commonly used by clinicians to assess muscle performance changes in response to rehabilitation in patients with low back pain (LBP). The aim of this study was to assess the responsiveness of three TME-tests in patients with LBP and to evaluate the relationships between changes in TME and improvement in self-reported function.

Materials and methods: Eighty-four LBP patients were evaluated at baseline and after completion of a 6-week training program. Function was assessed with the modified Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) while TME was estimated using three tests: (1) the Biering-Sørensen, (2) the side bridge endurance tests (both sides), and (3) the trunk flexor endurance test. The standardized response mean (SRM) and the minimal clinical important difference (MCID) for each TME-test, and the relationships between changes in TME and improvement in ODI were calculated.

Results: SRMs were small to large for TME-tests (range: 0.43-0.82), and large for the ODI (2.85) and no clinically useful MCID was identified for the TME-tests (area under the curve below 0.70). No significant correlations were found between changes in the TME and change in ODI scores (r < 0.15; all P > 0.05).

Conclusion: Our results show a weak responsiveness of TME-tests in patients with LBP. There was no association between endurance performance change and self-reported functional change. TME-tests may not be a key component of rehabilitation monitoring in patients with LBP.

Keywords: clinical evaluation; endurance; metrology; rehabilitation; strength.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by a grant from the Ordre professionnel de la physiothérapie du Québec (OPPQ) and the Quebec Rehabilitation Research Network (REPAR) partnership program as well as postdoctoral fellowships from the Fonds de la recherche Québec Santé (FRQS) and Sentinelle Nord (BPF). Funding sources had no involvement in the study design, the collection, analysis and interpretation of data, the writing of the report, and in the decision to submit the article for publication.