Concurrent Validity and Test-Retest Reliability of Ultrasonography-guided Musculoskeletal Evaluation of Non-specific Low Back Pain

Nonspecific low back pain is the commonest form of LBP, where the biomechanical abnormalities of the lumbar spine pose abnormal pressure to the muscles, ligaments, and fascial tissues of the lower back. Existing radiological investigations are used only to rule out other causes, so healthcare practitioners manually palpate the paraspinal muscles to diagnose NSLBP. So far, the diagnosis and clinical evaluation of NSLBP is done by patient-reported subjective tools of pain and function. Ultrasonography-guided real-time morphological and clinical evaluation of the muscles, ligaments, fascia, and other soft tissues of the lumbar region might be the future of the diagnosis of specific structural abnormalities in NSLBP. The study objectives are justified to improve the global standard of diagnosis and management for NSLBP regardless of clinical specialty. The musculoskeletal ultrasonography laboratory is fully equipped and functional to conduct the study, and we also have access to a large number of LBP patients at musculoskeletal

outpatient unit in this department.