•  
  •  
 

THE INFLUENCE OF PROLONGED STANDING ON THORAX AND PELVIS INTERSEGMENTAL COORDINATION DURING GAIT

Abstract

PURPOSE: The lumbar spine plays a pivotal role in gait by allowing coordinated movements between the thorax and pelvis. Individuals with persistent low back pain (LBP) have higher in-phase thorax/pelvis coordination, potentially to reduce lumbar spine movement and prevent pain. Although people can develop pain during everyday tasks, such as prolonged standing, most studies include participants with pre-existing LBP. This study assessed how prolonged standing-induced LBP influences thorax/pelvis coordination during gait. METHODS: 34 participants (22 female) aged 18–40 were recruited for this study. Participants walked six times at a self-selected speed through a markerless 3D motion capture volume that measured whole-body kinematics before standing for 75 minutes while working at a computer and then walked again. During standing and after the final walking trial, participants filled out a 100 mm visual analog scale (VAS) to rate their LBP from “no pain at all” to “worst pain imaginable.” Exceeding 10 mm from baseline denoted pain development (PD). Triaxial pelvis/thorax coordination for the first 10 gait cycles before and after standing was analyzed using continuous relative phase mean and standard deviation (SD). Two-way ANOVA analyses were run with a between factor of pain group and within factor of time (pre-/post-standing). RESULTS: Ten people developed LBP while standing with a mean VAS of 26.4 [±15.2] mm (non-PDs=0.46 [±1.4] mm). After post-standing walking, pain was 17.2 [±16.9] mm for PDs. There was a significant interaction between pain group and time for axial twist (p=.021) and flexion-extension (p=.037) SD angle. While the magnitude of axial twist SD increased across participants after standing, SD was higher for PDs (26.1o[8.8o]; non-PDs=23.0o[8.2o]). The opposite was found for flexion-extension SD angle (PDs=43.7o[±4.7o]; non-PDs=47.4o[±3.8o]). CONCLUSION: Increased axial twist SD angle with prolonged standing-induced LBP is opposite to what is found for those with LBP. Prolonged standing-induced LBP may result in individuals exploring movement patterns when walking to reduce pain and discomfort. This may be supported by their reduced LBP VAS after walking. Future work will investigate how

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS