Posterior Chain Flexibility and Lower Back Pain among Construction Workers: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Lower back pain is a common issue that has a substantial impact on individuals. Patients may experience pain in the lower back region, which may vary depending on the presence or absence of nerve involvement. Lower back pain is more common in occupations involving prolonged standing, sitting, or heavy lifting. While research exists on posterior chain flexibility and lower back pain in farm workers, studies on construction workers remain limited, highlighting the need for the present study. Aim: To investigate Low Back Pain (LBP) incidence and severity in construction workers, linking findings to posterior chain flexibility. Materials and Methods: The present study was a crosssectional study was conducted in South Western Assam, India,from December 2023 to May 2024. The study was affiliated to The Assam Royal Global University. The primary inclusion criteria included construction workers both male and female between the ages of 20 to 45 years of age and minimum of three months of working experience who consented to participate in the study were included and the exclusion criteria included pregnant and nursing mothers, subjects with previous back injuries and subjects with recent accident or other ailments were excluded from the study. Sampling was done using convenience sampling method. Informed consent was taken from the participants. LBP was assessed using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), flexibility was assessed using the sit and reach test, and back pain related disability was assessed using the Oswestry LBP Disability Questionnaire. Results: Out of total 95 participants,LBP prevalence was 100%. The correlation between age and VAS score is 0.173 with a p-value of 0.093 indicating a weak positive correlation. The VAS score and sit and reach test results have correlation of -0.192 with p-value of 0.062 indicating a weak negative correlation whereas age shows significant positive correlation with Oswestry LBP score, with a correlation coefficient of 0.229 and a p value of 0.025. The VAS score is strongly positively correlated with Oswestry LBP score, with a correlation coefficient of 0.595 and a highly significant p-value of less than 0.001. Conclusion: Posterior chain flexibility is significantly linked to reduced LBP-related disability and weakly associated with lower LBP severity