Analysis Of Lumbosacral Angle, Bio-Data And Their Relationship With Low Back Pain
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Date
2019-11
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KNUST
Abstract
Many researchers believe that lumbosacral angle is one parameter that is of importance in evaluating the possible etiology of lower or low back pain syndrome. There is paucity of data on the lumbosacral angle of the lumbosacral spine in Ghana and other African countries. Most of the data in use in research and medical practice are based on other races but there are anthropometric differences in races. Therefore, the study sought to bring out an empirical data on the pattern of low back pain (LBP) in relation to Lumbosacral Angle (LSA) in our study population and also investigate the association between LBP, LSA, age, gender and weight. Lateral views of the lumbosacral spine radiographs of 177 Ghanaian subjects from the St. John of God Hospital at Duayaw-Nkwanta were studied. The demographics and anthropometric measurements of the subjects such as age, gender and weight were recorded.
The LSA was measured using the Ferguson‟s orthogonal method with the Micro Dicom
Viewer software. The researcher employed the descriptive as well as the regressional survey. The findings from the study indicated that the population were dominated by females who constituted 70.1% of the study population as against males who also constituted 29.9%. In terms of age, majority of the participants were between the ages of 40 to 59 years as against the least that were between the ages of 0 to 19 years. The results showed that 41.8% of the sample did not have low back pain as against 58.2% who had low back pain. The mean LSA value for the normal controls was 14.5º with SD ± 1.32º. This can value can be recognised as the normal LSA for our population in from the study. A positive significant relationship was established between LSA and Low Back Pain. This simply means that an increase in LSA leads to 2.5 % increase in probability or risk of low back pain. Findings from the study showed that an increase in age leads to 41.8 % increase in the probability of having low back pain. Weight was found to positively correlate to low back pain. An increase in weight leads to 1.6% increase in the probable result of low back pain. This relationship was predicted to be significant. The study showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between LSA, age, weight and low back pain. The probability of pain of the lower back among males was also found to be 33.1% less than the probability that will be incurred by females and it is also not a significant relationship. In conclusion the mean angle values and variables may form the reference values for the Ghanaian population.
Description
A Thesis submitted to the Department of Computer Engineering College of Engineering In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MPhil Computer Engineering