{
  "abstract": "Background/Objectives: Chronic low back pain (LBP) in older adults is usually quantified as a single global score, which may not reflect the activities in which pain actually limits the patient. This study described function-specific LBP profiles in middle-aged and older patients and examined their cross-sectional association with standing sagittal spinopelvic alignment. Methods: This cross-sectional, retrospective observational study evaluated 102 patients with chronic LBP, categorized into Group M (under 75 years; n = 51) and Group O (75 years or older; n = 51). Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores were assessed during rest, getting up, rolling over, and walking (gait). An exploratory index, the proportional pain contribution (VAS%), was derived by expressing each phase as a percentage of the sum of the four scores; because the four values sum to 100% by definition, VAS% was interpreted only as a descriptor of the within-patient distribution of pain and always alongside the absolute scores. Lumbar lordosis (LL), pelvic incidence (PI), pelvic tilt (PT), sacral slope and PI minus LL (PI-LL) were measured on standing radiographs. Results: Group M reported higher absolute pain than Group O at rest, on getting up and on rolling over (all p < 0.001), whereas absolute gait pain did not differ between the groups (p = 0.730). As a consequence of this pattern, Gait VAS% was higher in Group O (median 59.8% vs. 27.3%, p < 0.001). Group O had lower LL (p = 0.001) and a larger PI-LL (p = 0.005); PI and PT did not differ significantly. Gait VAS% correlated with age (τ = 0.33) and PI-LL (τ = 0.29). In exploratory multivariable models, age and PI-LL were retained in the final model for Gait VAS% and were independently associated with it (β = 0.37 and 0.30 respectively; R² = 0.29). Conclusions: In this sample, the older patients reported less pain at rest and during postural transitions but similar pain during walking, so that walking accounted for a larger share of their total reported pain burden. This proportional pattern was associated with a larger standing PI-LL mismatch, although the association was modest. The findings are descriptive and hypothesis-generating, and suggest that asking separately about pain during walking may add information that a single global score does not capture.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Pain Medicine, Aichi Medical University,1-1 Yazako Karimata, Nagakute 480-1195, Aichi, Japan.",
    "Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Kochi Prefectural Hata Kenmin Hospital, Sukumo 788-0785, Kochi, Japan.",
    "Department of Orthopaedics, Aichi Medical University, 1-1 Yazako Karimata, Nagakute 480-1195, Aichi, Japan."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 5,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Toru Morimoto",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-1125-6119"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Tatsunori Ikemoto",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4521-7639"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Young-Chang Arai",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-2689-866X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Atsuhiko Hirasawa"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Norimitsu Wakao"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8srec0t511b8b.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/geriatrics11050144",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13704194",
  "id": "8srec0t511b8b",
  "issns": [
    "2308-3417"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42930023",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2736|Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7167906969",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13704194?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13704194",
  "pmid": "42930023",
  "published": "2026-10-07",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8srec0t511b8b.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:22:01Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42930023",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42930023"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2736|Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation",
      "subfield": "pharmacology-toxicology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Function-Specific Profiles of Chronic Low Back Pain in Middle-Aged and Older Patients and Their Association with Standing Sagittal Spinopelvic Alignment: A Cross-Sectional Study.",
  "title_text": "Function-Specific Profiles of Chronic Low Back Pain in Middle-Aged and Older Patients and Their Association with Standing Sagittal Spinopelvic Alignment: A Cross-Sectional Study.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:22:01Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8srec0t511b8b",
  "venue": "Geriatrics (Basel, Switzerland)",
  "versions": []
}