Journal of electromyography and kinesiology : official journal of the International Society of Electrophysiological Kinesiology
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J Electromyogr Kinesiol · Aug 2018
Trunk postural adjustments: Medium-term reliability and correlation with changes of clinical outcomes following an 8-week lumbar stabilization exercise program.
Low back pain (LBP) has been previously associated with delayed anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs) determined by trunk muscle activation. Lumbar stabilization exercise programs (LSEP) for patients with LBP may restore the trunk neuromuscular control of the lumbar spine, and normalize APAs. This exploratory study aimed at testing the reliability of EMG and kinematics-based postural adjustment measures over an 8-week interval, assessing their sensitivity to LBP status and treatment and examining their relationship with clinical outcomes. ⋯ Future clinical trials are needed to target patients with and without delayed APAs at baseline and to explore the sensitivity of different outcome measures related to APAs. Different tasks more challenging to postural stability may need to be explored to more effectively reveal APA dysfunction.