Factors Related to Low Back Pain Severity in Veterans with Unilateral Below Knee Amputation

Aims: Low back pain as a common health issue is more problematic than other complications of amputation. Due to the etiology of amputation in veterans, different factors may be related to the severity of back pain. The aim of this study was to evaluate the factors related to the severity of low back pain in veterans with unilateral below-knee amputation.
Instruments & In this descriptive correlational study, 62 male veterans with unilateral below-knee amputation in 2016 were selected using available sampling method from Center of Orthosis and Prosthetics Kowsar in Tehran. The severity of back pain and disability caused by low back pain were evaluated by Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), respectively. Biomechanical evaluations were carried out using surface electromyography. Data was analyzed by SPSS 20 software using Pearson correlation coefficient, Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, simple linear regression and Chi square test.
Findings: There was a significant correlation between pain severity and asymmetry index of superficial lumbar multifidus muscle (r=0.31; p=0.01). Asymmetry index of superficial lumbar multifidus muscle could predict 0.09 of pain severity (p Muscle asymmetry due to the use of the prosthesis, prosthesis height, amputation-associated psychological disorders and smoking are the factors related to the severity of low back pain in veterans with unilateral below-knee amputation.