Abstract

Introduction: The adipose tissues distribution in patients with low back pain has not been thoroughly investigated. 
Aim: This study was designed to assess the adipose tissue distribution using selected adipose tissue indices in patients with mechanical low back pain (MLBP). 
Methods: Ninety six (96) patients with MLBP participated in this study. The following anthropometric indices were assessed: Body Mass Index (BMI), waist circumference, waist to hip ratio, and skinfold thickness. Data obtained were analysed using descriptive statistics of mean, standard deviation, and percentages. 
Results: The findings revealed that 41.70% of the subjects had grade 1 obesity using BMI as an index while 20.80% had grade 11 obesity and 4.20% had grade 111 obesity. The result also showed that 66.70% of the patients were severely obese using waist to hip ratio index (WHR), 16.67% had mild obesity and 16.67 were moderately obese. Using an index of waist circumference, 54.2% had a high waist circumference while 6 (25.0%) had a moderate waist circumference (WC) and 20.9% were normal. 
Conclusion: The study concluded that most patients with low back pain who participated in this study were obese using BMI, WHR and WC indicating that increase in body fat may influence the prevalence of MLBP.