Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Physical Therapy - Department of Basic Science

Background : Increased body mass index (BMI) is recognized as a major health problem in the world; it is accompanied with reduced postural control and stability and could be one cause of the risk of falls and also increase various musculoskeletal disorders including impairment of the spine. Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of BMI and gender on lumber flexibility and on risk of falls in adult subjects. Subjects: 87 adult subjects of both genders. Their ages ranged from 20 to 40 years. Subjects were classified into 3 groups according to BMI. Group A: consisted of 28 subjects of normal weight (BMI: 20 - 24.9 kg/m2). Group B: consisted of 30 subjects who had overweight (BMI: 25 - 29.9 kg/m2). Group C: consisted of 29 subjects who had mild obesity (BMI: 30-34.9 kg/m2). Methods: Lumbar flexibility was measured using back range of motion (BROM) device and risk of falls was evaluated with functional reach test. Results: The study revealed that there was no significant difference in lumbar flexibility between the three groups (p> 0.05). Also there was no significant difference between males and females in each group as regard to lumbar flexibility. But there was a significant increase in risk of falls in group (C) when compared with both groups A and B (p= 0.007, 0.015, respectively). Also risk of falls was significantly increased in females than males in each of the three studied groups (p= 0.030; 0.008 and 0.022, respectively). Conclusion: The current study revealed that there was no effect of BMI and gender on lumber flexibility. While risk of falls increased in obese subjects than normal and overweight subjects. Also, females had higher risk of falls than males in each of normal, overweight and obese subjects

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