The Effect of Traction Forces in People With Obesity Suffering From Chronic Low Back Pain

People suffering from obesity are particularly vulnerable to mechanical compression of the intervertebral discs, and as a result their degeneration, hernia and pressure on the nerve roots, which together cause inflammation and pain in the damaged area. This is a significant public health problem due to the 100% incidence of pain syndrome among people with obesity. The use of traction forces has beneficial effects on degenerated intervertebral discs, but there are no studies assessing the effectiveness of the traction method in relation to a group of obese people with back pain syndrome.

Beneficial biochemical changes in the blood, alleviation of pain, improvement of functional parameters of the spine are expected after application of traction forces to the patients in the mechanism of decompression of the destroyed and being in chronic inflammation intervertebral discs. Identification of biomarkers enabling to monitor the effects of therapies in patients with chronic back pain can become a contribution to change standards in the diagnosis of back pain and reorientation in its treatment to real causes.

Inclusion criteria

• Written consent to participate in the study,
• Age: 35 - 60 years,
• Obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg / m2) or normal weight (BMI 18,5-29,9 kg/m2),
• Stable body weight in the last month ± 2 kg,
• Chronic low back pain.

Exclusion criteria

• Secondary form of obesity;
• Serious neurological defects (including large muscle losses, sensory disturbances in a large area of the lower limb, occurrence of cauda equina syndrome);
• Surgery, post-accident mechanical injuries, history of spine fractures;
• History of rheumatic disease (RA, ankylosing spondylitis, systemic lupus);
• Osteoporosis;
• Pain located in a location other than the spine which is more severe than the low back pain;
• Poorly controlled type 2 diabetes;
• Poorly controlled hypertension (mean systolic blood pressure> 140mmHg and / or average diastolic blood pressure> 90mmHg) during the last month and / or the necessity of modification of pharmacological treatment;
• Lipid disorders requiring the introduction of pharmacological treatment in the last 3 months before observation or during observation;
• Acute coronary event, unstable angina, stroke or transient cerebral ischemia in the last 6 months;
• Features of heart failure in physical examination and / or additional tests (chest X-ray, echocardiography);
• Clinically significant arrhythmias, conduction disorders, pacemaker implantation;
• Fainting in an interview,
• Chronic kidney disease with creatinine clearance <60mL / min / 1.73m2;
• Clinically significant liver dysfunction (transaminases exceeding 3 times the normal range);
• Acute or chronic, clinically apparent inflammatory process of the respiratory tract, inflammatory processes of the genitourinary system, inflammatory process in the head and neck;
• Acute infection in the last month;
• Cancer;
• Alcohol abuse, drug addiction;
• Pregnancy;
• Uncontrolled mental illness that may falsify test results;
• Other conditions which may pose any risk to the patient during the observation.