Experimental brain research. Experimentelle Hirnforschung. Expérimentation cérébrale
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Contralateral transversus abdominis muscle (cTrA) is known to be anticipatory to rapid focal movement. The activation of ipsilateral TrA (iTrA) follows cTrA, but their anticipatory interaction in healthy subjects seems to be delayed in low back pain (LBP) patients. TrA delay in LBP is linked with reorganization of the primary motor cortex (M1), thus supporting that cortical changes underlie the altered postural control. ⋯ Delay of iTrA/IO and the lacking co-activation were not explained by between-group differences of transcranial magnetic stimulation outcomes. TrA/IO co-activation is present during rapid focal movement in healthy subjects only. LBP patients displayed an important alteration of the control of spine stability that can be explained by altered mechanisms of M1 motor programming.