Comparison of 3D spinal motions during stair-climbing between individuals with and without low back pain (original) (raw)

Comparison of Lumbopelvic Movement Patterns in People with and Without Low Back Pain During Stair Descending Task

Journal of Rehabilitation Sciences and Research, 2018

Background: Decreased lumbar spine control may be associated with early and/ or excessive lumbopelvic motion with trunk and lower extremity movements during functional and daily activities. This study investigated differences in lumbopelvic movement patterns in people with and without low back pain (LBP) during a stair descending (SD) task. Methods: A total of 36 subjects, 18 females with non-specific chronic low back pain (NSCLBP) and 18 healthy females, participated in this study. A threedimensional motion capture system was used to record kinematics during the SD task. Results: The results showed that in the LBP group, the start-time of the lumbar muscles occurred early in the movement (P=0.015). Additionally, subjects with LBP showed excessive lumbar spine and pelvic movement during the SD task (P<0.05). Conclusion: LBP patients make early and excessive lumbopelvic movements during a SD task, and this can be an important factor contributing to the development or persistence o...

Three-Dimensional Spinal Position With and Without Manual Distraction Load Increases Spinal Height

Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 2020

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate if spinal height increases using 3-dimensional (3-D) spinal position with and without manual distraction load and to assess the correlation between spine height changes and degrees of trunk rotation. Methods: Fifty-six participants were randomly placed in one of two groups: (1) 3-D spinal position with manual distraction load, and (2) without manual distraction load. Spinal height was measured before and after the interventions using a stadiometer. For the statistical analysis, we used a 2 (Loading status: pre-versus post-intervention height) X 2 (3-D spinal position: with versus without manual distraction load) repeated measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to identify significant interaction and main effects. Paired t-tests were used to calculate differences in spinal height changes between the two interventions. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to measure correlations between changes in spinal heights and degrees of trunk rotation. Results: Mean spinal height increase with 3-D spinal position with and without manual distraction load was 6.30 mm (§6.22) and 5.69 mm (§4.13), respectively. No significant interaction effect was present between loading status and 3-D spinal position but a significant main effect in loading status was. Paired t-tests revealed significant differences in spinal heights between pre-and post-3-D spinal position with and without manual distraction load. No significant correlation was measured between trunk rotation and spinal height changes. Conclusion: 3-D spinal position with or without distraction load increased spinal height. This suggests that 3-D spinal positioning without manual distraction could be used in home settings to help maintain intervertebral disc (IVD) health.

Differences in lumbar spine and lower extremity kinematics during a step down functional task in people with and people without low back pain

Clinical biomechanics (Bristol, Avon), 2017

When functional movements are impaired in people with low back pain, they may be a contributing factor to chronicity and recurrence. The purpose of the current study was to examine lumbar spine, pelvis, and lower extremity kinematics during a step down functional task between people with and without a history of low back pain. A 3-dimensional motion capture system was used to analyze kinematics during a step down task. Total excursion of the lumbar spine, pelvis, and lower extremity segments in each plane were calculated from the start to end of the task. Separate analysis of variance tests (α=0.05) were conducted to determine the effect of independent variables of group and plane on lumbar spine, pelvis, and lower extremity kinematics. An exploratory analysis was conducted to examine kinematic differences among movement-based low back pain subgroups. Subjects with low back pain displayed less lumbar spine movement than controls across all three planes of movement (P-values=0.001-0....

The Influence of Carrying Anterior Load on the Sagittal and Frontal Plane Kinematics of Lower Extremities during Stair Ascending

Journal of Biomedical Physics and Engineering

Background: Anterior load carriage is a one of the commonly performed activities in some industries. Stair climbing while carrying anterior load significantly alters different biomechanical mechanisms that can potentially affect the musculoskeletal function of the lower extremities. Objective: The study aims to assess the effect of carrying an anterior load (20% of body weight) on lower extremity kinematics during the kinematical phases of stairs ascent (weight acceptance, pull up, forward continuance, and swing phase). Material and Methods: In this experimental study, data were collected through the use of a custom made wooden staircase and OPtiTrack motion capture system was composed of 12 infrared cameras and a per modeled reflective marker set. Sixteen female college students volunteered to conduct two tasks of ascending stairs with and without an anterior load of approximately 20% of their body weight. The collected frontal and sagittal plane lower extremity joint angles were calculated using MATLAB software (version R2015a). Statistical comparison between the two study tasks was made using IBM SPSS Statistics software (version 25.

Prediction of the Spinal Musculoskeletal Loadings during Level Walking and Stair Climbing after Two Types of Simulated Interventions in Patients with Lumbar Disc Herniation

Journal of Healthcare Engineering, 2019

Background. Low back pain (LBP) continues to be a severe global healthy problem, and a lot of patients would undergo conservative or surgical treatments. However, the improving capacity of spinal load sharing during activities of daily living (ADLs) after interventions is largely unknown. The objective of this study was to quantitatively predict the improvement of spinal musculoskeletal loadings during level walking and stair climbing after two simulated interventions. Material and Methods. Twenty-six healthy adults and seven lumbar disc herniation patients performed level walking and stair climbing in sequence. The spinal movement was recorded using a motion capture system. The experimental data were applied to drive a musculoskeletal model to calculate all the lumbar joint resultant forces and muscle activities of seventeen main trunk muscle groups. Rehabilitation and reconstruction were selected as the representative of conservative and surgical treatment, respectively. The spina...

Low back three-dimensional joint forces, kinematics, and kinetics during walking

Clinical Biomechanics, 1999

Objective. The purpose of this study was to examine the three-dimensional low back loads, spinal motions, and trunk muscular activity during gait. Specific objectives involved assessment of the effects of walking speed, and arm swing on spinal loads, lumbar spine motion, and muscular activation. Design. An in vivo modeling experiment using live male participants. Thirty walking trials were performed by each participant yielding five repeats of each condition (3 walking cadences x 2 arm swing conditions). Background. Walking is often prescribed as a rehabilitation task for individuals with low back injuries. However, there are few studies which have examined the joint loading, spinal motions, and muscular activity present when walking. Additionally, the majority of studies examining spine loading during gait have used an inverse dynamics model, commencing at the crania1 aspect of the body, approach which does not include the impulsive phases of gait (i.e. heel strikes and toe offs). Metho& Low back joint forces (bone on bone) and moments were determined using an anatomically complex threedimensional mode1 (detailing 54 muscles and the passive structures acting at the low back) during three walking cadences and with free arm swing or restricted arm swing. In order to assess the influence of the transient factors such as heel contact on the joint forces a bottom up (from the feet to the lumbar spine) rigid link segment analyses approach was used as one input to the three-dimensional anatomic model. Lumbar spine motion and trunk muscle activation levels were also recorded to assist in partitioning forces amongst the active and passive tissues of the low back. Results. Net joint anterior-posterior shear loading was the only variable significantly affected by walking cadence (fast versus slow P<O.O003). No variable was significantly affected by the arm swing condition. Trends demonstrated an increase in all variables with increased walking cadence. Similarly, most variables, with the exception of axial twist and lateral bend lumbar spine motion and lateral joint shear, demonstrated increasing trends caused by the restriction of normal arm swing. Conclusions. Tissue loading during walking appears to be below levels caused by many specific rehabilitation tasks, suggesting that walking is a wise choice for genera1 back exercise and rehabilitation programs. Slow walking with restricted arm swing produced more 'static' lumbar spine loading and motion patterns, which could be detrimental for certain injuries and tissues. Fast walking produced a more cyclic loading pattern. Relevance This work provides a detailed analysis of low back joint loading, lumbar motion, and muscular activation during walking. The magnitude of joint motions, muscular activation, and joint loading provide further insight into the tissue demands during gait and demonstrate that slow walking produced more 'static' lumbar spine loading and motion patterns activity that may present difficulty for some low back injured. While, faster walking appears to be a cyclic activity that is only mildly demanding in terms of tissue loading, rendering it a low risk of injury for most individuals.

The Effect of Lumbar Disc Herniation on Musculoskeletal Loadings in the Spinal Region During Level Walking and Stair Climbing

Medical Science Monitor, 2017

Background: People with low back pain (LBP) alter their motion patterns during level walking and stair climbing due to pain or fear. However, the alternations of load sharing during the two activities are largely unknown. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of LBP caused by lumbar disc herniation (LDH) on the muscle activities of 17 main trunk muscle groups and the intradiscal forces acting on the five lumbar discs. Material/Methods: Twenty-six healthy adults and seven LDH patients were recruited to perform level walking and stair climbing in the Gait Analysis Laboratory. Eight optical markers were placed on the bony landmarks of the spinous process and pelvis, and the coordinates of these markers were captured during the two activities using motion capture system. The coordinates of the captured markers were applied to developed musculoskeletal model to calculate the kinetic variables. Results: LDH patients demonstrated higher muscle activities in most trunk muscle groups during both level walking and stair climbing. There were decreases in anteroposterior shear forces on the discs in the pathological region and increases in the compressive forces on all the lumbar discs during level walking. The symmetry of mediolateral shear forces was worse in LDH patients than healthy adults during stair climbing. Conclusions: LDH patients exhibited different kinetic alternations during level walking and stair climbing. However, both adaptive strategies added extra burdens to the trunk system and further increased the risk for development of LDH.