POSTURAL CHANGES AND CHRONIC LUMBAR PAIN IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: ORIGINAL STUDY

ABSTRACT Objective: Evaluate the impacts of postural changes and low back pain in university students. Methodology: The research is configured as a cross-sectional observational study of the field study type. Fifty university students were recruited, with or without chronic low back pain. Subjects were assessed for pain level in the lumbar spine using a Likert scale, posture was assessed by photogrammetry, and functionality was assessed using the Roland-Morris disability questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and a Chi-square test (p<0.05) were performed using the SPSS 20.0 program. Results: The frequency of chronic low back pain was 62%. Of these, 48.28% reported moderate pain in the last week. The university students did not present physical disability with a mean of 3.42 ± 3.33; the most frequent postural dysfunction was scoliosis, with 84%. There was no statistically significant relationship (p> 0.112) between postural changes and chronic low back pain. Conclusion: There was a frequency of chronic low back pain and adult scoliosis in college students. However, there was no direct and significant relationship between postural biomechanical changes and chronic low back pain. Level of evidence II; A descriptive cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach.