OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the interaction between thoracic movement and lumbar muscle co-contraction when the lumbar spine was held in a relatively neutral posture.
METHODS: Thirty young adults, asymptomatic for back pain, performed 10 trials of upright standing, maximum trunk range of motion, and thoracic movement tasks while lumbar muscle activation was measured. Lumbar co-contraction was calculated, compared between tasks, and correlated to thoracic angles.
RESULTS: Movement tasks typically exhibited greater co-contraction than upright standing. Co-contraction in the lumbar musculature was 67%, 45%, and 55% greater than upright standing for thoracic flex, thoracic bend, and thoracic twist, respectively. Generally, the thoracic movement task demonstrated greater co-contraction than the maximum task in the same direction. Co-contraction was also correlated to thoracic angles in each movement direction.
CONCLUSION: Tasks with thoracic movement and a neutral lumbar spine posture resulted in increases in co-contraction within the lumbar musculature compared with quiet standing and maximum trunk range-of-motion tasks. Findings indicated an interaction between the 2 spine regions, suggesting that thoracic posture should be accounted for during the investigation of lumbar spine mechanics.
Author keywords: Spine, Biomechanical Phenomena, Electromyography, Superficial Back Muscles, Abdominal Muscles, Muscle Contraction
Author affiliations: School of Kinesiology & Health Science, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
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