A Study on the Relationship between Postural Control and Pain-Related Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Chronic Nonspecific Low Back Pain

Objectives. To explore the relationship between postural control and pain-related clinical outcomes in patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain (cNLBP). Methods. Participants with cNLBP and healthy individuals were recruited. Muscle activities were recorded during internal and external perturbation tasks. Postural control capacity was assessed by muscle onset time and integrals of electromyography (iEMGs) of postural muscles during the phases of anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs) and compensatory postural adjustments (CPAs). Correlation analysis was employed to investigate the relationship between postural control capacity, pain, and disability. Results. Twenty-seven patients with cNLBP and 27 healthy participants were recruited. Gastrocnemius (GA) muscle onset time was earlier in the cNLBP group than in the control group in the internal perturbation task. The onset time of GA and erector spinae (ES) of the cNLBP group was later than that of the controls in the external perturbation task. Disability level moderately correlated with the iEMGs of rectus abdominis (RA), GA, and external oblique (EO) during APAs. Pain score moderately correlated with the iEMGs of RA, EO, and ES during CPAs of perturbation tasks. Conclusion. cNLBP participants had altered muscle activation strategy to maintain postural stability in response to perturbation. This study further discovered that pain-related disabilities of cNLBP participants were likely related to the APAs capacity, whereas the pain intensity may relate to the CPAs capacity. Pain and disability may therefore be related to the control process of the posture-related muscles.

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Correction of Posture Deviations in the Sagittal Plane Using the Pilates Method

SPORT AND SOCIETY ◽

10.36836/uaic/fefs/10.50 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 3-13

Author(s):

Alexandru Cîtea ◽

George-Sebastian Iacob

Keyword(s):

Low Back Pain ◽

Back Pain ◽

Postural Control ◽

Human Body ◽

Sagittal Plane ◽

The Body ◽

Lower Limbs ◽

Low Back ◽

Pilates Method ◽

The Relationship

Posture is commonly perceived as the relationship between the segments of the human body upright. Certain parts of the body such as the cephalic extremity, neck, torso, upper and lower limbs are involved in the final posture of the body. Musculoskeletal instabilities and reduced postural control lead to the installation of nonstructural posture deviations in all 3 anatomical planes. When we talk about the sagittal plane, it was concluded that there are 4 main types of posture deviation: hyperlordotic posture, kyphotic posture, rectitude and "sway-back" posture.Pilates method has become in the last decade a much more popular formof exercise used in rehabilitation. The Pilates method is frequently prescribed to people with low back pain due to their orientation on the stabilizing muscles of the pelvis. Pilates exercise is thus theorized to help reactivate the muscles and, by doingso, increases lumbar support, reduces pain, and improves body alignment.

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Effects of the difference between lumbar lordosis in the supine and standing positions on the clinical outcomes of decompression surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis

Journal of Neurosurgery Spine ◽

10.3171/2021.7.spine21413 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-7

Author(s):

Shiho Nakano ◽

Masahiro Inoue ◽

Hiroshi Takahashi ◽

Go Kubota ◽

Junya Saito ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Low Back Pain ◽

Back Pain ◽

Clinical Outcomes ◽

Sagittal Alignment ◽

Low Back ◽

Strongly Correlated ◽

Spinal Sagittal Alignment ◽

The Difference ◽

Lumbar Spinal ◽

The Relationship

OBJECTIVE The authors sought to evaluate the relationship between the difference in lumbar lordosis (DiLL) in the preoperative supine and standing positions and spinal sagittal alignment in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) and to determine whether this difference affects the clinical outcome of laminectomy. METHODS Sixty patients who underwent single-level unilateral laminectomy for bilateral decompression of LSS were evaluated. Spinopelvic parameters in the supine and standing positions were measured preoperatively and at 3 months and 2 years postoperatively. DiLL between the supine and standing positions was determined as follows: DiLL = supine LL − standing LL. On the basis of this determination patients were then categorized into DiLL(+) and DiLL(−) groups. The relationship between DiLL and preoperative spinopelvic parameters was evaluated using Pearson’s correlation coefficient. In addition, clinical outcomes such as visual analog scale (VAS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores between the two groups were measured, and their relationship to DiLL was evaluated using two-group comparison and multivariate analysis. RESULTS There were 31 patients in the DiLL(+) group and 29 in the DiLL(−) group. DiLL was not associated with supine LL but was strongly correlated with standing LL and pelvic incidence (PI) − LL (PI − LL). In the preoperative spinopelvic alignment, LL and SS in the standing position were significantly smaller in the DiLL(+) group than in the DiLL(−) group, and PI − LL was significantly higher in the DiLL(+) group than in the DiLL(−) group. There was no difference in the clinical outcomes 3 months postoperatively, but low-back pain, especially in the sitting position, was significantly higher in the DiLL(+) group 2 years postoperatively. DiLL was associated with low-back pain in the sitting position, which was likely to persist in the DiLL(+) group postoperatively. CONCLUSIONS We evaluated the relationship between DiLL and spinal sagittal alignment and the influence of DiLL on postoperative outcomes in patients with LSS. DiLL was strongly correlated with PI − LL, and in the DiLL(+) group, postoperative low-back pain relapsed. DiLL can be useful as a new spinal alignment evaluation method that supports the conventional spinal sagittal alignment evaluation.

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Postural adjustments impairments in elderly people with chronic low back pain

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-83837-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Daniela Rosa Garcez ◽

Gizele Cristina da Silva Almeida ◽

Carlos Felipe Oliveira Silva ◽

Tainá de Souza Nascimento ◽

Anselmo de Athayde Costa e Silva ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Low Back Pain ◽

Back Pain ◽

Postural Control ◽

Elderly People ◽

Chronic Low Back Pain ◽

Center Of Pressure ◽

Control Group ◽

Low Back ◽

Maximum Displacement ◽

Postural Adjustments

AbstractChronic low back pain (CLBP) is associated with postural control impairments and is highly prevalent in elderly people. The objective of this study is to verify whether anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs) and compensatory postural adjustments (CPAs) are affected by CLBP in elderly people by assessing their postural control during a self-initiated perturbation paradigm induced by rapid upper arm movement when pointing to a target. The participants’ lower limb muscle onset and center of pressure (COP) displacements were assessed prior to perturbation and throughout the entire movement. T0 moment (i.e., the beginning of the movement) was defined as the anterior deltoid (DEL) onset, and all parameters were calculated with respect to it. The rectus femoris (RT), semitendinosus (ST), and soleous (SOL) showed delayed onset in the CLBP group compared with the control group: RF (control: − 0.094 ± 0.017 s; CLBP: − 0.026 ± 0.012 s, t = 12, p < 0.0001); ST (control: − 0.093 ± 0.013 s; CLBP: − 0.018 ± 0.019 s, t = 12, p < 0.0001); and SOL (control: − 0.086 ± 0.018 s; CLBP: − 0.029 ± 0.015 s, t = 8.98, p < 0.0001). In addition, COP displacement was delayed in the CLBP group (control: − 0.035 ± 0.021 s; CLBP: − 0.015 ± 0.009 s, t = 3; p = 0.003) and presented a smaller amplitude during APA COPAPA [control: 0.444 cm (0.187; 0.648); CLBP: 0.228 cm (0.096; 0.310), U = 53, p = 0.012]. The CLBP group required a longer time to reach the maximum displacement after the perturbation (control: 0.211 ± 0.047 s; CLBP 0.296 ± 0.078 s, t = 3.582, p = 0.0013). This indicates that CLBP elderly patients have impairments to recover their postural control and less efficient anticipatory adjustments during the compensatory phase. Our results suggest that people with CLBP have altered feedforward hip and ankle muscle control, as shown from the SOL, ST, and RT muscle onset. This study is the first study in the field of aging that investigates the postural adjustments of an elderly population with CLBP. Clinical assessment of this population should consider postural stability as part of a rehabilitation program.

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