Interaction Between Thoracic Movement and Lumbar Spine Muscle Activation Patterns in Young Adults Asymptomatic for Low Back Pain: A Cross-Sectional Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 461-469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Schinkel-Ivy ◽  
Janessa D.M. Drake
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. e000556
Author(s):  
Ulrike H Mitchell ◽  
A Wayne Johnson ◽  
Patrick J Owen ◽  
Timo Rantalainen ◽  
Daniel Belavy

ObjectiveThe transversus abdominis muscle (TrA) is active during running as a secondary respiratory muscle and acts, together with the multifidus, as trunk stabiliser. The purpose of this study was to determine size and symmetry of TrA and multifidus muscles at rest and with contraction in endurance runners without low back pain.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingA medical imaging centre in Melbourne, Australia.ParticipantsThirty middle-aged (43years±7) endurance-trained male (n=18) and female (n=12) runners without current or history of low back pain.Outcome measuresMRI at rest and with the core engaged. The TrA and multifidus muscles were measured for thickness and length (TrA) and anteroposterior and mediolateral thickness (multifidus). Muscle activation was extrapolated from rest to contraction and compared with the same and contralateral side. Paired t-tests were performed to compare sides and contraction status.ResultsLeft and right TrA and multifidus demonstrated similar parameters at rest (p>0.05). However, with contraction, the right TrA and multifidus (in mediolateral direction) were 9.2% (p=0.038) and 42% (p<0.001) thicker, respectively, than their counterparts on the left. There was no TrA thickness side difference with contraction in left-handed participants (p=0.985). When stratified by sex, the contracted TrA on the right side remained 8.4% thicker, but it was no longer statistically significant (p=0.134). The side difference with contraction of the TrA became less with increasing training age.ConclusionsRight-handed long-term runners without low back pain exhibit a greater right side core muscle activation when performing an isometric contraction. This activation preference diminishes with increasing training age.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clecio Souza ◽  
Sanderson Assis ◽  
Karinna Costa ◽  
Yago Medeiros ◽  
Liane Macedo

Abstract BACKGROUND: Low back pain and disc herniation are common problems in the world population, being characterized by discomfort in the region of the spine, resulting in functional capacity and quality of life reduced. Some of the causes of these conditions seem to be associated with the biomechanical imbalance of the muscles that act in the spine. There are methods to assess the level of activation and strength of the stabilizing muscles of the spine, such as the Pressure Biofeedback Unit (PBU). This study aims to compare the level of activation of the transverse abdomen muscle and back strength in healthy, low back pain and herniated disc individuals. METHODOS: a cross-sectional study was carried out with 30 men that were homogeneously distributed in three groups: healthy (HG), with low back pain (LBPG) and with herniated disc (HDG). The primary outcomes were the level of activation of the transversus abdominis, assessed by PBU, and back strength, assessed by dynamometry. Pain, flexibility and disability were evaluated as secondary outcomes.RESULTS: The mean age of the participants in this study was 30.47 ± 9.74 years. Regarding the activation of the transversus abdominis, no differences were found between groups (p = 0.155). For strength, LBPG and HDG were different compared to HG (p = 0.028 and p = 0.045, respectively). Pain was different between the HG and both LBPG and HDG (all p < 0.001). Regarding flexibility, no differences (p > 0.05) were found. The HDG had the highest disability score and was statistically different of the HG (p = 0.005), but with no difference from LBPG (p = 0.087).CONCLUSION: the activation of the tranversus abdominis is similar between healthy, non-specific back pain and herniated disc individuals; however, the latter presents a reduced level of strength and more disability.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Meier ◽  
C. Emch ◽  
C. Gross-Wolf ◽  
F. Pfeiffer ◽  
A. Meichtry ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common musculoskeletal disorders, causing significant personal and social burden. Current research is focused on the processes of the central nervous system (particularly the sensorimotor system) and body perception, with a view to developing new and more efficient ways to treat chronic low back pain (CLBP). Several clinical tests have been suggested that might have the ability to detect alterations in the sensorimotor system. These include back-photo assessment (BPA), two-point discrimination (TPD), and the movement control tests (MCT). The aim of this study was to determine whether the simple clinical tests of BPA, TPD or MCT are able to discriminate between nonspecific CLBP subjects with altered body perception and healthy controls. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted. At one point in time, 30 subjects with CLBP and 30 healthy controls were investigated through using BPA, TPD and MCT on the lower back. Correlations among the main covariates and odds ratios for group differences were calculated. Results MCT showed an odds ratio for the presence of CLBP of 1.92, with a statistically significant p-value (0.049) and 95%CI. The TPD and BPA tests were unable to determine significant differences between the groups. Conclusions Of the three tests investigated, MCT was found to be the only suitable assessment to discriminate between nonspecific CLBP subjects and healthy controls. The MCT can be recommended as a simple clinical tool to detect alterations in the sensorimotor system of nonspecific CLBP subjects. This could facilitate the development of tailored management strategies for this challenging LBP subgroup. However, further research is necessary to elucidate the potential of all the tests to detect alterations in the sensorimotor system of CLBP subjects. Trial registration No trial registration was needed as the study contains no intervention. The study was approved by the Swiss Ethics Commission of Northwest and Central Switzerland (EKNZ) reference number 2015–243.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sungwoo Choi ◽  
Sangun Nah ◽  
Hae-Dong Jang ◽  
Ji Eun Moon ◽  
Sangsoo Han

AbstractLow back pain (LBP) is a very common health problem worldwide, and has a major impact on quality of life. This is a cross-sectional study using data obtained from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) to investigate the health and nutritional status of Korean people, conducted in 2013, 2014, and 2015. The total of 8,473 patients included in the analysis. A 357 (19.34%) subjects in the chronic LBP group and 1,697 (25.61%) subjects in the no chronic LBP group reported no stress (P < 0.001). The numbers of subjects reporting mild, moderate, and severe stress in the two groups were 934 (50.6%) vs. 3,785 (57.11%), 432 (23.4%) vs. 910 (13.73%), and 123 (6.66%) and 235 (3.55%), respectively (all P < 0.001). Multiple logistic regression analysis with full adjustment for other variables indicated higher OR for severe stress (OR 2.82, P < 0.001) than moderate (OR 2.54, P < 0.001) and mild (OR 1.55, P < 0.001) stress. We confirmed that there was a significant association between chronic LBP and degree of stress. Therefore, the degree of stress should be assessed in clinical treatment of chronic LBP patients.


2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yueming Hu ◽  
Zechuan Yang ◽  
Yong Li ◽  
Yong Xu ◽  
Mengge Tian ◽  
...  

Background: Few studies have focused on depressive symptoms among patients with chronic low back pain in China. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to assess the prevalence and associated factors of depressive symptoms in patients with chronic low back pain.Methods: From May to August 2021, 1,172 patients with chronic low back pain were recruited in China. Depressive symptoms were assessed through the Patient Health Questionnaire. Associations of demographic characteristics, clinical characters and social-psychological factors with depressive symptoms were investigated among patients with chronic low back pain.Results: The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 25.00%. Logistic regression analysis found that duration of pain in 1-5 years (1-3 years: OR = 2.91, 95%CI: 1.65-5.14, 3-5 years: OR = 3.09, 95%CI: 1.55-6.15) and more severe pain (OR = 1.13, 95%CI: 1.10-1.17) were associated with higher risks of depressive symptoms. Better family function (good family function: OR = 0.25, 95%CI: 0.15-0.41, moderate family dysfunction: OR = 0.47, 95%CI: 0.29-0.77) and higher pain self-efficacy (OR = 0.94, 95%CI: 0.93-0.95) were associated with lower risks of depressive symptoms.Conclusion: Patients with chronic low back pain have a high prevalence of depressive symptoms in China. Duration of pain, pain severity, family function and pain self-efficacy were predictors of depressive symptoms among chronic low back pain patients in China. Early identification of the associated factors may be helpful for the timely management of depressive symptoms.


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