Medical Journal of the Islamic Republic Of Iran

en The Analysis of Spontaneous Electroencephalogram (EEG) in Chronic Low Back Pain Patients Compared with Healthy Subjects Physiotherapy Physiotherapy Original Research Original Research Background: Quantitative electroencephalography (EEG) power spectra analysis was applied to assess brain activation during chronic pain. Although many studies have shown that there are some common characteristics among individuals suffering from various pain syndromes, the data remains inconclusive. The present study aimed to assess chronic low back pain (CLBP) based on functional brain changes with EEG in CLBP patients compared with healthy controls.    Methods: Multichannel electroencephalogram data were recorded from 30 subjects with CLBP and 30 healthy controls under eye-open resting state conditions and active lumbar forward flexion, and their cortical oscillations were compared using electrode-level analysis. Data were analyzed using a pair t-test.    Results: A total of 30 patients (19 men and 11 women in the case group (mean [SD] age, 35.23 [5.93] years) with 30 age and sex-match healthy controls participated in the study. A paired t-test was applied to identify whether there was any difference in the absolute and relative power of frequency spectra between CLBP patients and healthy controls. The results showed a significant increase in alpha relative power in CLBP patients compared with healthy controls in an open-eye resting state (P < 0.050) and active lumbar forward flexion (P < 0.050).    Conclusion: The enhanced alpha relative power in CLBP patients could be relevant to attenuating sensory information gating and excessive integration of pain-related information. Increased power at the EEG seems to be one of the clinical characteristics of individuals with CLBP. EEG can be a simple and objective tool for studying the mechanisms involved in chronic pain and identifying specific characteristics of CLBP patients.   Chronic Low Back Pain, Electroencephalography, EEG, Pain, Alpha Oscillation 999 1007 http://mjiri.iums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-26-3&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Sanaz Bemani Bemanisanaz66@gmail.com 200319475328460080937 200319475328460080937 No Iranian Center of Excellence in Physiotherapy, Rehabilitation Research Center, Department of Physiotherapy, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Javad Sarrafzadeh j.sarrafzadeh@iums.ac.ir 200319475328460080938 200319475328460080938 Yes Iranian Center of Excellence in Physiotherapy, Rehabilitation Research Center, Department of Physiotherapy, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Shohreh Noorizadeh Noorizadeh.sh@iums.ac.ir 200319475328460080939 200319475328460080939 No 1. Iranian Center of Excellence in Physiotherapy, Rehabilitation Research Center, Department of Physiotherapy, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Saeed Talebian Talebian@tums.ac.ir 200319475328460080940 200319475328460080940 No Department of Physiotherapy, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Reza Salehi Salehi200@yahoo.com 200319475328460080941 200319475328460080941 No Iranian Center of Excellence in Physiotherapy, Rehabilitation Research Center, Department of Physiotherapy, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, & Department of Rehabilitation Management, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, & Geriatric Mental Health Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Jamileh Zarei jamileh.zarei@gmail.com 200319475328460080942 200319475328460080942 No Department of Health Psychology, School of Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran