Abdominal Belts and Low Back Position Sense

Abstract

Abdominal belts are sometimes used as a low-cost, low back injury prevention measure in industry. Claims for the effectiveness have suggested that such belts may enhance proprioception and therefore improve low back stability. In this study, this claim was examined by using a previously established low back reposition sense protocol to assess the change in position sense with use of an elastic back belt in both an upright and a flexed posture. The results of this study demonstrate no overall improvement of position sense with back belt. However, significant improvement was observed at a torso flexion angle of 45 degrees. While future studies in other conditions are suggested, this study suggest that back belts may be useful only when highly flexed postures are required for manual materials handling.

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