Can Reducing Pelvic Tilt Angle Reduce Back Pain? In this case study, a 56-year-old woman with severe lower back pain and excessive lumbar lordosis performed an exercise three times a day aimed at reducing the angle of her pelvis in relation to her spine. After two weeks, her anterior pelvic tilt angle had decreased, resulting…

Scoliosis Associated with Neck Pain. Knowledge is sparse regarding neck problems in patients with idiopathic scoliosis. A recent observational study set out to investigate the prevalence of neck problems among individuals with or without idiopathic scoliosis and found that 42% of the participants with scoliosis had neck pain compared with only 20% of those without…

Job Strain, Sleep Disturbances, and Back Pain. Using data from the Stockholm Public Health Cohort surveys from 2006 and 2010, researchers have determined that a physically active job, high job strain, and sleep disturbances increase the risk for developing troublesome low back pain. The findings may suggest that a reduction in job demands and improvement…

Spondylolysis Associated with Degenerative Joints in the Spine. Spondylolysis is defined as a defect or stress fracture in the pars interarticularis of the vertebral arch. While the cause of spondylolysis is unknown, many factors are thought to contribute to its development. A recent study set out to determine the effects of this condition on the…

Multisite Musculoskeletal Pain in Adolescence May Predict Medical and Social Issues. Norwegian researchers report that teenagers with pain in multiple body sites have an elevated risk for life-affecting health problems during young adulthood. In this study, researchers followed 3,987 teens for an average of eight years and found a positive relationship between the number of…

Using surface electromyography and a digital camera, researchers investigated changes in posture and muscle activation among 18 participants while they interacted with their electronic device. The results revealed that smartphone use induced a more flexed posture on the neck and trunk compared with desktop computer use. The researchers also found that participants began to experience…

In this study, researchers matched 30 individuals suffering from low back pain with 30 participants of the same height and weight without low back pain. The investigators then measured the participants’ hamstring length and found that those without low back pain had significantly longer hamstrings than the individuals with low back pain. The findings suggest…

Chronic computer-related neck pain is common among office workers. In this study, researchers randomly selected 109 female office workers with chronic neck pain to perform either progressive resistance training (PRT), fixed resistance training (FRT), or no exercise to act as a control group (CG). Those in the exercise groups performed four exercises targeting the neck…

Brazilian researchers analyzed data from a 2013 National Health Survey and found that 18.5% of the Brazilian population suffers from chronic back pain. Among men, risk factors for chronic back pain include: 65 years or older; low education level; living in rural area; history of smoking, high salt intake, heavy physical activity at work or…

Myofascial release (MFR) is a hands-on technique that involves applying gentle sustained pressure to myofascial connective tissue restrictions to eliminate pain and restore motion. A study recently investigated the effects of MFR on pain and disability in patients suffering from chronic low back pain (CLBP). The study included 54 participants with nonspecific CLBP who either…