Clinical biomechanics
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Clinical biomechanics · Dec 2016
Characteristics of thoracic and lumbar movements during gait in lumbar spinal stenosis patients before and after decompression surgery.
Although gait analysis has been previously conducted for lumbar spinal stenosis patients, the vertebral segmental movements, such as of the thoracic and lumbar regions, and whether the spinal movement during gait changes after decompression surgery remain unclear. ⋯ The epidural pressure of lumbar spinal stenosis patients is known to be higher than that of normal subjects during gait, and to decrease during walking with lumbar flexion. Preoperatively, smaller thoracic and lumbar flexion movements during gait relative to the standing position cannot decrease epidural pressure; as a result, severe leg pain might be induced.