Zarko Krkeljas, Dimitrije Kovac

With high rates of active population experiencing undiagnosed, non-specific low back pain, a new approach is needed with consideration of dysfunctional movement patters that may lead to chronic back pain. Active straight leg raise (ASLR) is widely used diagnostic tests for LBP, but there is a lack of evidence of association with other clinical parameters, and functional analyses used in evaluation of LBP. Hence, the primary aim of this study is to investigate association of ASLR test with the movement deficiencies in muscles and joints responsible for lumbo-pelvic stability in populations with and without low back pain. 100 physically active participants with (n=50) and without LBP (n=50) volunteered for the study. One-way ANOVA was used to examine for potential differences between two groups, and multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) to examine the pattern of relationships between the measured variables. Participants without pain had significantly higher ASLR score (p < 0.001), demonstrated better hamstring flexibility (p < 0.001) and better gluteal activation pattern (p < 0.01). On the other hand, participants with LBP had greater incidence of pelvic rotation during knee flexion, and hip internal rotation, relative to participants without LBP (p < 0.001). Results also demonstrate that participants with pain scored largely 1 on the ASLR which was also associated with hamstring tightness, calf tightness, limited trunk flexion, hypo-mobility of the trunk, and posterior pelvic tilt. These findings indicate a strong association of low back pain with functional movement impairment and weakness in movement motor control. ASLR test should be used conjunction with other functional evolution tests to isolate the cause of LBP in physically active individuals.

Keywords: ASLR test, low back pain, motor control impairments

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