Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39773790›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2025

Prevalence of piriformis syndrome and its associated risk factors among university students in Pakistan: a cross-sectional study.

Nusrat Batool, Naila Azam, Hassan N Moafa, Azka Hafeez, Humaira Mehmood, Nimbal Imtiaz, Waqas A Shehzad, Asaad Saleem Malik, Ajiad Alhazmi, Manal Almalki and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Nusrat BatoolDepartment of Public Health, Armed Forces Post Graduate Medical Institute, Rawalpindi, Pakistan nusratbatool.afpgmi@numspak.edu.pk nusratbaloch9@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0002-8561-7124
Naila AzamDepartment of Public Health, Armed Forces Post Graduate Medical Institute, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
Hassan N MoafaDepartment of Public Health, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4078-9467
Azka HafeezDepartment of Public Health, Armed Forces Post Graduate Medical Institute, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
Humaira MehmoodNUMS, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
Nimbal ImtiazArmed Forces Post Graduate Medical Institute, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
Waqas A ShehzadArmed Forces Post Graduate Medical Institute, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
Asaad Saleem MalikPhysical Therapy, Tehsil Headquarter Hospital, Gujar Khan, Pakistan.
Ajiad AlhazmiDepartment of Public Health, College of Public Health, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0003-6994-7155
Manal AlmalkiDepartment of Public Health, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia.
Almutasim B MoafaPhysiotherapy, Athar Alharaka Physiotherapy Clinic, Jazan, Saudi Arabia.
Jobran M MoshiMedical Laboratory Technology, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo determine the prevalence of piriformis syndrome (PS) among undergraduate university health sciences students aged 18 to 25 and assess the significant predictors of PS regardless of its type and severe PS in particular.

designA cross-sectional study.

settingThe study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital of a public university in Pakistan from December 2023 to May 2024.

participantsA total of 190 subjects enrolled in the study who met the eligibility criteria, which included being an undergraduate health sciences student (medical and allied health specialities), aged 18 up to 25 years, and willing to participate in the study. Participants were selected using multistage random sampling. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The prevalence of PS in addition to associated risk factors as a primary outcome measures. Secondary outcome measures included the severity of PS.

resultsOf the total, 119 (62.6%) were female, 114 (60.0%) were between 22 and 25 years old, and 125 (65.8%) had standard body mass index. The prevalence of PS was (61.1%), whereas half suffered from severe PS, and the remaining half had mild and moderate PS. We found that factors such as casual sitting positions, sitting duration and International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) score (physical activity) were associated with odds of PS in the crude and adjusted regression analyses. When stratified by severity of PS, factors such as writing positions, casual sitting positions, sitting duration and IPAQ score (physical activity) were associated with odds of severe PS in the crude and adjusted regression analyses.

conclusionsStudents have a high prevalence of PS, with an increased likelihood of buttock pain associated with prolonged sitting, poor posture and physical inactivity. Future research that includes several factors related to students' social and psychological backgrounds is required.

Indexed as

StudentsAdolescentAdultCross-Sectional StudiesExerciseFemaleHumansMalePakistanPrevalenceRisk FactorsSitting PositionUniversitiesYoung AdultBack painMusculoskeletal disordersPrevalencePrimary PreventionRisk Factors

Identifiers

PMID39773790
PMCPMC11749530

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.