Changes in Lumbo-Pelvic Coordination of Individuals With and Without Low Back Pain When Wearing a Hip Orthosis

• Main Authors: Matthew T. Ballard (Author), Colin Drury (Author), Babak Bazrgari (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A., 2020-07-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 2624-9367; 10.3389/fspor.2020.00090
• Keywords: low back pain; lumbo-pelvic coordination; orthosis; lumbopelvic rhythm; lumbar rotation; pelvic rotation; Sports; GV557-1198.995
• Source: Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, Vol 2 (2020)

Individuals with low back pain demonstrate an abnormal lumbo-pelvic coordination compared to back-healthy individuals. This abnormal coordination presents itself as a reduction in lumbar contributions and an increase in pelvic rotations during a trunk forward bending and backward return task. This study investigated the ability of a hip orthosis in correcting such an abnormal lumbo-pelvic coordination by restricting pelvic rotation and, hence increasing lumbar contributions. The effects of the hip orthosis on the lumbo-pelvic coordination were investigated in 20 low back pain patients and 20 asymptomatic controls. The orthosis reduced pelvic rotation by 12.7° and increased lumbar contributions by 11%. Contrary to our expectation, orthosis-induced changes in lumbo-pelvic coordination were smaller in patients; most likely because our relatively young patient group had smaller unrestricted pelvic rotations compared to asymptomatic individuals. Considering the observed capability of a hip orthosis in causing the expected changes in lumbo-pelvic coordination when there is a relatively large pelvic contribution to trunk motion, application of a hip orthosis may provide a promising method of correcting abnormal lumbo-pelvic coordination, particularly among patients who demonstrate larger pelvic rotation, that warrants further investigation.