Abstract
BACKGROUND: Patients with lower back pain due to lumbar rotation with flexion syndrome (LRFS) have greater asymmetry of rotation in the lumbopelvic region than healthy people.
OBJECTIVE: To understand the activities of the trunk muscle and kinematics of the trunk and pelvis in patients with LRFS during the bird-dog (BD) exercise with dominant non-dominant leg lifts, a frequently prescribed stabilization exercise.
METHODS: We compared activity and kinematics during the BD exercise with dominant and non-dominant leg lifts in 11 patients (6 male, 5 female) with LRFS who were recruited from a university.
RESULTS: Significantly lower activation of the ipsilateral erector spinae muscle was found during the nondominant leg lift than the dominant leg lift in patients performing the BD exercise (t =−3.71, p=0.04). In addition, the trunk was significantly flexed during the dominant leg lift (t=−6.069, p=0.00) and bent to the right side(t=3.131, p=0.01) during both dominant and nondominant leg lifts.
CONCLUSIONS: These results imply the presence of asymmetrical muscle activity and kinematics in the trunks of subjects with LRFS. This information should be considered for prescribing exercises to such subjects.