[Determination of pain severity in patients with low back pain using kinesiologic electromyography of the sacrospinal muscles].

The values of kinesiological electromyogram (EMG) of the sacrospinal muscles in the lumboscral region during trunk motion in the sagittal plane have been compared between a group of 51 healthy controls and 101 patients suffering from low back pain and/or ischialgia of degenerative etiology. Kinesiological EMG of the sacrospinal muscles refers to the scanning of superficial (EMG) activity of both sacrospinal muscles in the lumbar region by the use of MS6 EMG device and a PC. The patients were classified into five groups on the basis of their subjective reports on the severity of their painful condition evaluated on the visual analogous scale (VAS). The link was found between subjective assessment of pain and EMG activity during flexion and at peak flexion (p < 0.001) and during extension (p < 0.05); a more severe pain is accompanied by an increase in EMG activity.