Back Stiffness Is Associated with Physical Health and Low Back Pain-Related Disability in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Objective. Back stiffness is a common complaint among older adults with low back pain. Nonetheless, self-reported back stiffness has received little exploration in this patient population. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations of self-reported low back stiffness with physical health and low back pain-related disability among older adults with low back pain. Design. Cross-sectional analysis Subjects. Data included in this study were obtained from the Retirement Community Back Pain Study, a population-based survey of older adults. Methods. Participants completed the Medical Outcomes Survey Short-Form 36 and the modified Oswestry Low Back Pain Questionnaire. Physical health, derived from the Short Form-36, was represented by the physical component summary score. Back stiffness was rated on a 0–10 scale, where 0 indicated “no back stiffness.” Results. Covariates—that is, intensity and duration of low back pain, age, sex, weight, education level, and comorbidities—explained 27% of the variance in physical health (P