Research and News
New Clinical Test for Low Back Pain using Exercise Ball
Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common conditions, yet the specific cause of LBP remains unknown in 85% of cases. Some researchers and clinicians postulate that LBP can be caused by neuromuscular impairments in postural and muscular coordination. Unfortunately, few clinical tests exist to quantify these impairments. Researchers at Lund University in Sweden performed a study to evaluate 3 functional tests of muscular functional control of the lumbar spine in patients with LBP. 19 subjects were evaluated during 3 tests: sitting on a 55 cm to 65 cm exercise ball with 1-leg lifted; a unilateral pelvic lift; and single leg stance. Each test looked at altered spine position or compensatory movements of the extremities.
Download a handout of the Sitting Exercise Ball test for LBP here
The researchers used the exercise ball sitting with leg lift test to create a shearing force lateral to the spine, which is thought to increase load on stabilization muscles on the contra lateral side. The authors noted that muscular stabilization capacity is often difficult between the left and right sides of the spine. The investigators found very good inter-rater reliability for the single leg stance and exercise ball leg lift tests, but the tests still need validation.
Visit the Thera-Band Academy Low Back Pain Center here
Visit the Thera-Band Academy Exercise Ball Center here
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| Print article | This entry was posted by Dr. Phil Page on December 2, 2009 at 1:29 pm, and is filed under Exercise Balls, Research Updates. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site. |
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