Relationship Between Core Muscles Endurance and Saliba's Postural Classification System in Patients With Chronic Mechanical Low Back Pain

The visual analog scale (VAS) is a unidimensional measure of pain intensity, consisting of a horizontal line 10 cm long. It is anchored by "no pain" (score 0) and "worst imaginable pain" (score 10), with higher scores indicating greater pain intensity.

For each item of the ODI, the participants will be asked to choose one answer that best defines his/her back function. Scores for each item will be tallied and the total score will be recorded. A total score from 0-20 to indicate "minimal disability", 20-40 to indicate "moderate disability," 40-60 to indicate "severe disability", 60-80 to indicate "housebound", and 80-100 to indicate "bedbound".

The patient is positioned on a stool, chair, or table, with their forearms vertically and hovering. Force is directed towards the patient, ensuring they cannot move unless they buckle. The therapist's hands are placed on the patient's shoulders between the acromion and the first rib insertion. The test is graded 1-5, with 1-4 indicating dysfunction and 5 being efficient force translation to the support base. Inefficient responses cause spine side bends, backward bends, shears, or rotates.

The patient's position is described as a 90-degree bend in elbows, with forearms supinated to a loose pack position, humerus perpendicular to the floor, and no shoulder adduction allowed. The therapist's position involves standing in front, applying resistance, positioning forearms perpendicular to the floor, and hovering with hand placement over the distal end of the forearm. The patient's stability response is observed, with efficient states activating core, rotator cuff, shoulder girdle, and global shoulder and arm muscles. Inefficient states involve giving in arms, shoulder girdle, and spine.

The patient is positioned in a sit-up position with their back against a 60-degree jig, knees and hips flexed 90 degrees, arms folded, and feet secured. The therapist pulls the jig back 10 cm and the patient holds an isometric posture for as long as possible. Failure is determined when any part of the back touches the jig. The patient's time holding the isometric posture is recorded, with a normal range of 1-2 minutes.

The back extensors, erector spinae and multifidus, are tested with the upper body off the bench and secured, with the pelvis, knees, and hips secured. Participants hold the upper limbs across the chest, and failure occurs when the upper body drops below the horizontal position. The researcher records the time participants can hold the body straight.

The test start with patient lying on the side then the therapist will ask him to lift the body on the elbow, forearm, and feet stacked creating a straight line from head to toe. Same as prone plank time recorded as long as he could hold his body and hip off the floor. The researcher will record the time with a normal range of 1-2 minute

The test start with the patient in prone position and the therapist will ask the patient to support the upper body off the ground by the elbows and forearms, and to take the weight by the toes with the legs straight. The hip is lifted off the floor creating a straight line from head to toe. As soon as the patient is in the correct position, the therapist starts the stopwatch. The head should be facing towards the ground and not looking forwards. The test is over when the patient is unable to hold the back straight and the hip is lowered. The researcher will record the time of holding the body up, normal range is 1-2 minutes