Etiology and Progression of Acute Muscle Tension Related Low Back Pain Occurring during Sustained Activity including Combat Training Exercises.

This project is determining relationships between back muscle tension, amount and type of activity, and onset and intensity of back pain among people in their normal environments in order to develop and test preventive and ameliorative measures. Ambulatory recorders are used to record muscle tension, activity, and back pain for 20 hours at a time among civilians in their normal work environments and among soldiers either in garrison or participating in combat training exercises. The portion of this study funded by MRDC has been completed but the program is continuing with local support using the ambulatory recorders developed through this funding. Results of the MRDC funded portion of the study demonstrate that, for people with muscle tension related low back pain, changes in low back muscle tension are correlated 0.88 with changes in pain intensity. There is a relationship between participation in field exercises and onset of low back pain among both soldiers who normally do and do not experience back pain. Both pain and muscle tension are higher in garrison than in the field. Subjects with headaches and back pain who wore the recorder both before and after muscle tension recognition and relaxation training showed changes in muscle tension - pain relationships which paralleled changes in their overall condition. Soldiers with musculoskeletal low back pain who wore the recorder both in the field and garrison before and after brief training to recognize changes in low back muscle tension showed reduced pain during post training activities. The standard way of scoring the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory MMPI was shown to exaggerate the psychological components of soldiers reports of pain.