Understanding Low Back Pain in Traumatic Lower Limb Amputees: A Systematic Review

Biranavan Sivapuratharasu; Anthony M J Bull; Alison H McGregor

doi:10.1016/j.arrct.2019.100007

Understanding Low Back Pain in Traumatic Lower Limb Amputees: A Systematic Review

Arch Rehabil Res Clin Transl. 2019 Jun 25;1(1-2):100007. doi: 10.1016/j.arrct.2019.100007. eCollection 2019 Jun.

Authors

Biranavan Sivapuratharasu^{1

2}, Anthony M J Bull^{1

3}, Alison H McGregor^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Blast Injury Studies, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
² Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
³ Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.

Abstract

Objective: This systematic review aims to evaluate current literature for the prevalence, causes, and effect of low back pain (LBP) in traumatic lower limb amputees, specifically its association with the kinematics and kinetics of the lumbar spine and lower extremities.

Data sources: Databases (EMBASE, MEDLINE, Scopus, CINAHL, PsycINFO) were searched systematically for eligible studies from inception to January 2018.

Study selection: The inclusion terms were synonyms of low back pain, lower limb amputation, and trauma, whereas studies involving nontraumatic amputee populations, single cases, or reviews were excluded. 1822 studies were initially identified, of which 44 progressed to full-text reading, and 11 studies were included in the review.

Data extraction: Two independent reviewers reviewed the included studies, which were evaluated using a quality assessment tool and the Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation system for risk of bias, prior to analyzing results and conclusions.

Data synthesis: There was an LBP prevalence of 52%-64% in traumatic amputees, compared to 48%-77% in the general amputee population (predominantly vascular, tumor, trauma), attributed to a mixture of biomechanical, psychosocial, and personal factors. These factors determined the presence, frequency, and severity of the pain in the amputees, significantly affecting their quality of life. However, little evidence was available on causality.

Conclusion: The high prevalence of LBP in traumatic amputees highlights the necessity to advance research into the underlying mechanics behind LBP, specifically the spinal kinematics and kinetics. This may facilitate improvements in rehabilitation, with the potential to improve quality of life in traumatic amputees.

Keywords: ADIM, abdominal drawing-in maneuver; ADL, activities of daily living; Amputees; FE, finite element; LBP, low back pain; LLD, limb length discrepancy; Low back pain; Lower limbs; Mechanics; PLP, phantom limb pain; ROM, range of motion; Rehabilitation; TFA, transfemoral amputee; TTA, traumatic transtibial amputee; Trauma.

Publication types

Review