RESUMO
Background: High Body Mass Index(BMI) has been linked with increased risk of low back pain(LBP) in females. High BMI has been linked with an increased risk of low back pain. Increased body fat could increase the mechanical load on the spine by causing a higher compressive force or increased shear on the lumbar spine structures during various activities. In LBP, the muscular endurance of the back muscles mainly, the abdominal core, back extensors and abdominals is reduced. Hence, there is a need to assess muscular endurance of the trunk muscles in overweight females so as to determine a cause for LBP. The objective of this study is to compare back extensors, the abdominal core and abdominal muscle endurance in overweight and normal females in the age group of 20-30years. Method: A group of 120 healthy females were included in this study. Out of these, 60 females were with normal BMI and 60 were overweight. Back extensor endurance was evaluated by Beiring-Sorenson’s test. The core muscle endurance was assessed by Sphygmomanometer method in prone lying. In both the tests, holding time was measured by stopwatch. The abdominal muscle endurance was assessed by Partial curl-up test. Curl-ups were done according to the metronome beats. The number of repetitions performed was measured. A comparison was done between normal and overweight females. Results: In normal females the mean age was 21.18 with mean BMI of 21.96 whereas in overweight females the mean age was 21.27 with mean BMI of 27.44. The mean back extensor, core and abdominal endurance in normal females were 59.053,10.81 and 18.97 respectively was high as compared to overweight which was 30.33,6.13 and 11.27 respectively. Data analysis was done using unpaired t-test. The muscular endurance was significantly reduced (p<0.00) in overweight females as compared to the normal females. Conclusion: This study concluded that back extensor, core and abdominal endurance are significantly reduced in overweight females as compared to normal.