FREQUENCY OF CALF AND HAMSTRING TIGHTNESS AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY IN PATIENTS WITH LUMBAR RADICULOPATHY

Abstract

Background: Radicular pain is primarily due to the vertebra's impingement, inflammation, or nerve compression. It refers to a pathological process that involves the lumbar roots that cause symptoms of radicular pain in the lower extremity of the human body.

Objective: To determine the frequency of calf and hamstring tightness and its association with functional disability in patients with lumbar radiculopathy

Methodology: The study was conducted among 149 patients at the Mansoorah Hospital and Nawaz Sharif Social Security Hospital in Lahore on conveniently sampled patients. Inclusion criteria were an age limit of 20-50 years, both genders, patients with lumbar radiculopathy, and chronic low back pain. An active knee extension test was performed to check the hamstring muscle tightness, and a calf muscle tightness test was performed to evaluate the tightness of the calf muscle. 

Results: Mean age of the sample was 38.36±12.74 years. Out of the total, 44.3% of participants had hamstring muscle tightness, 38.9% had calf muscle tightness, and 36.91% had a functional disability. Hamstring tightness was not associated with the functional disability of patients (p=0.901), but calf muscle tightness had a significant association with the functional disability of patients(p=0.008). 

Conclusion: About 44.30% of patients with lumbar radiculopathy had hamstring tightness, and 38.9% had calf muscle tightness. Hamstring tightness is not associated with the functional disability of patients, but calf muscle tightness has a significant correlation.