Open AccessThe use of the thermographic examination in non-specific low back pain in elderly: controlled study
Author(s) -
Gabriela Santos Xavier,
Danillo Barbosa,
Mariane Pereira Batista,
Mônica Beatriz Ferreira,
Ivo IIvan Kerppers,
Bruno Bonfim Foresti
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
manual therapy, posturology and rehabilitation journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2236-5435
DOI - 10.17784/mtprehabjournal.2018.16.641
Subject(s) - lumbar , medicine , thermography , low back pain , physical therapy , physical examination , population , back pain , physical medicine and rehabilitation , surgery , pathology , physics , alternative medicine , environmental health , infrared , optics
Background: Chronic low back pain (CLBP) affects an important part of the population worldwide and contributes to increased spending on medicines and imaging tests. An alternative in the diagnosis of nonspecific CLBP is the thermography examination, since it has low cost, good sensitivity and specificity in inflammatory processes. Objectives: The present article aimed to evaluate non - specific CLBP in elderly patients using thermography (TermoScanTD200) and the instrument of inability of Oswestry. Methods: The study included 120 subjects with a mean age of ±78.8 years. Results: the results of the column disability assessment reported that 60% of the sample reported moderate disability and 3% of the sample reported disability. In the thermography examination, 40% of the sample presented alterations in the lumbar 5 (L5), 20% showed changes in lumbar 3 (L3) and lumbar 4 (L4) and 10% of the sample presented changes in lumbar 1 (L1) and lumbar 2 (L2). When comparing lumbar spine follow-up with type of inflammatory process, it was observed that 40% of the sample presented a prevalence of acute inflammatory process in the lumbar 5 (L5), and 30% of the sample presented a prevalence of sub-acute inflammatory process in lumbar 3 (L3) and 40% of the sample presented a prevalence of chronic inflammatory process in lumbar 5 (L5). Conclusion: In view of the above, it is suggested that the thermography examination is an important tool in the diagnosis of nonspecific low back pain in the elderly.