Low back pain is a common complaint in our society. It is related to poor back health, which can lead to disc injuries and disability later on if back health does not improve to a healthy level. Thus, the assessment of back health helps identify potential back problems so it may be prevented through exercise interventions. It involves measuring flexibility, posture, and abdominal and back muscle strength and endurance.
The CPAFLA protocol for back health assessment involves a sit and reach test, which measures low-back flexibility. The second test is the measure of waist circumference in centimeters. Larger waist circumference leads to risk for back pain due to abdominal fat compressing and stressing the spine. However, there is a stronger relationship between the 2 for women than men (Lean et al., 1998). The third test is the partial curl-ups for maximum repetitions with 25 as the maximum to measure abdominal strength and endurance. For back muscle strength and endurance, a Biering-Sorensen method is used. The individual will be lying race down, performing a back extension and holding for as long as he/she can. Lastly, a physical activity questionnaire is used because higher level of it is related to lower risk for back pain (Albert et al., 2001).
Reference
Albert, W.J., Bonneau, J., Stevenson, J.M., and Gledhill, N. (2001). Back fitness and back health assessment considerations for the Canadian Physical Activity Fitness and Lifestyle Appraisal. Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology. 26(3):291-317.
Lean, M.E., Han., T.S., and Seidell, J.C. (1998). Impairment of health and quality of life in people with large waist circumference. Lancet. 351(9106):853-56