The effect of extensible and non-extensible lumbar belts on trunk muscle activity and lumbar stiffness in subjects with and without low-back pain
Type de document
Études primaires
Année de publication
2019
Langue
Anglais
Titre de la revue
Clinical Biomechanics
Première page
45
Dernière page
51
Résumé
Background
Lumbar belts have been shown to increase lumbar stiffness, but it is unclear if this is associated with trunk muscle co-contraction, which would increase the compression on the spine. It has been hypothesized that lumbar belts increase lumbar stiffness by increasing intra-abdominal pressure, which would increase spinal stability without increasing the compressive load on the spine.
Methods
Trunk muscle activity and lumbar stiffness and damping were measured in healthy and low-back pain subjects during three conditions: no lumbar belt; wearing an extensible lumbar belt; wearing a non-extensible lumbar belt. Muscle activity was measured while subjects performed controlled forward and backward 20° trunk sways. Lumbar stiffness and damping were measured by applying random continuous perturbation to the chest.
Findings
External oblique activity was decreased when wearing either lumbar belt during all phases of movement, while rectus abdominis and iliocostalis activity were decreased during the phase of movement where the muscles were maximally active while wearing either belt. Trunk stiffness was greatly increased by wearing either belt. There were no consistent differences in either lumbar stiffness or muscle activity between the two belts. Wearing a lumbar belt had little to no effect on damping. There were no group differences in any of the measures between healthy and low-back pain populations.
Interpretation
The findings are consistent with the hypothesis that lumbar belts can increase spinal stability by increasing intra-abdominal pressure, without any increase in the compressive load on the spine. The findings can also be generalized, for the first time, to subjects with low-back pain.
Mots-clés
Maux de dos, Backache, Ceinture lombo-abdominale, Lésion du tronc, Trunk injury, Affection dorsale, Back disorder, Lifting belt, Mécanique humaine, Body mechanics, Détermination expérimentale, Experimental determination, Soulèvement des charges, Manual lifting, Recherche sur la douleur, Research on pain
Numéro de projet IRSST
2012-0055
Citation recommandée
Ludvig, D., Preuss, R. et Larivière, C. (2019). The effect of extensible and non-extensible lumbar belts on trunk muscle activity and lumbar stiffness in subjects with and without low-back pain. Clinical Biomechanics, 67, 45-51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinbiomech.2019.04.019