Lifting characteristics of the elderly with chronic lower back pain

The purpose of this study was to determine if the same differences in lifting observed in a younger population of chronic lower back pain (CLBP) patients are present in an elderly CLBP patient population. The parameters used to quantify the lifting patterns included lift duration, starting posture, coordination parameters, maximum hip and shoulder moments and anterior-posterior sway. The lifts performed by controls and CLBP patients were designated as early, middle or late based on the number of repetitions completed by the subject, and a repeated measures analysis allowed testing for changes over time during the task. Significant group differences were shown in lift duration and anterior-posterior (AP) body sway with controls lifting faster with more AP sway than CLBP patients. Changes over time were observed in lift duration and starting posture. Group-by-time interactions were seen in coordination parameters, maximum hip moment, lift duration, and starting posture. In general, these results show patterns of lifting like those seen in younger subjects, with similar differences between groups with and without CLBP. This test appears to have utility for evaluating the effects of CLBP on functional performance in elderly subjects.