Prevalence of LBP and its Relationship with Physical Activity and BMI in Teachers

The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of low back pain (LBP) and its relationship with physical activity and body condition in female teachers from Ardabil, Iran. In terms of methodology, this survey study was descriptive and correlational, and its statistical population encompassed all female teachers in Ardabil schools. The sample schools were selected using random and cluster (with regard to the appropriate proportion of elementary and secondary schools) sampling methods. With selecting the random schools and observing the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 289 out of 5941 female teachers, aged between 24 and 60 years, were included in the study. The sample size was estimated based on Krejcie and Morgan's Table. The required data was collected by the following tools: Baecke Questionnaire (to assess physical activity in the participants' daily life at three work, exercise, and leisure intervals), Visual Analog Scale (VAS; to assess pain severity in different life stages), and New York Test (to assess the body status). Spearman and Chi-square tests were also performed to analyze the data. The results of the descriptive statistics indicated the high prevalence of LBP in all stages of teachers' lives. Although there was a significant difference in the prevalence of LBP (85.46%) and the other life periods (45.67%, 56.74%, 69.55%), the intensity of LBP in all stages of life revealed no significant difference. Furthermore, according to VAS, the mean intensity of LBP was 43.98 in the present time, 40.46 during the past 6 months, and 37.99 during the past one year, and 35.38 throughout one's lifetime. The Spearman and Chi-square tests also revealed no significant relationship between the prevalence of LBP and the level of physical activities in teachers as well as a significant relationship between the intensity of LBP (VAS) and the level of their physical activities. Furthermore, there were a significant relationship between the prevalence of LBP and teachers' body condition (-0.273) and a statistically significant relationship between the intensity of LBP and teachers' body condition (-0.389).