3D Stereophotogrammetric Quantitative Evaluation of Posture and Spine Proprioception in Subacute and Chronic Nonspecific Low Back Pain

Abstract

The literature shows that low back pain causes a reduced lumbar range of movement, affecting patients′ proprioception and motor control. Nevertheless, studies have found that proprioception and motor control of the spine and posture are vague and individually expressed even in healthy young adults. This study aimed to investigate the standing posture and its modifications induced by an instinctive self-correction manoeuvre in subacute and chronic nonspecific low back pain (NSLBP) patients to clarify how NSLBP relates to body upright posture, proprioception, and motor control and how these are modified in patients compared to healthy young adults (121 healthy young adults: 57 females and 64 males). A cohort of 83 NSLBP patients (43 females, 40 males) were recruited in a cross-sectional observational study. Patients′ entire body posture, including 3D spine shape reconstruction, was measured using a non-ionising 3D optoelectronic stereophotogrammetric approach. Thirteen quantitative biomechanical parameters describing the nature of body posture were computed. The statistical analysis was performed using multivariate methods. NSLBP patients did not present an altered proprioception and motor control ability compared to healthy young adults. Furthermore, as for healthy subjects, NSLBP patients could not focus and control their posture globally. Proprioception and motor control in natural erect standing are vague for most people regardless of gender and concurrent nonspecific low back pain. Self-correction manoeuvres improving body posture and spine shape must be learned with specific postural training focusing on the lumbar spine.

Motor asymmetries and handwriting in children with unilateral crossbite: a novel approach.

“…Floppy test: a transitive (tool-related) test measuring dexterity, which required participants to insert fourteen floppy disks one at a time in the proper case with one hand, as fast as possible, while the other hand controlled the case 29 ; one familiarization trial and two effective trials for each hand (best ones were registered) as shown in figure 4. 30 , which integrates an optoelectronic stereophotogrammetric system, a baropodometric treadmill and a telemetric surface electromyographic device (SEMG) Patients with a UPXB were subjected to a multifactorial analysis of posture and movement, integrating full 3D synchronized skeletal kinematics (including the spine), baropodometric assessments and electromyographic data. To describe trunk and global unbalancing, spinal offset, and global offset (i.e., displacements of each spine markers with respect to the vertical line passing through the S3 vertebra and with respect to the vertical line passing through the middle point between the heels, respectively) are used.…”

Assessment of thoracic spinal curvatures in static postures using spatially tracked 3D ultrasound volumes: A proof-of-concept study

“…Similar to the transformation of sensor positions described in Section 2.2, the landmark coordinates were transformed relative to the centre of the middle pixel of each US volume (L US,w pos k ) and further transformed to metric units (mm) using defined US voxel spacing. The homogeneous transformation NDI T US obtained in Section 2.2 was reapplied to the US-derived landmarks to determine their location in the NDI coordinate system according to Equation (5).…”

“…Currently, optoelectronic approaches are considered the gold standard for characterising gross spinal motion of the lumbar and/or thoracic spine [1]. Typically, markers are attached to the skin covering bony landmarks of the spine [2][3][4][5] and thorax [6,7]. The position of individual vertebrae and their reciprocal angles is currently estimated as constant (population-based) fractions of the measured entire lumbar and/or thoracic segment angles using musculoskeletal models [8][9][10], recently reviewed in [11].…”

Assessment of thoracic spinal curvatures in static postures using spatially tracked 3D ultrasound volumes: a proof-of-concept study

“…Currently, optoelectronic approaches are considered the gold standard for characterising gross spinal motion of the lumbar and/or thoracic spine [1]. Typically, markers are attached to the skin covering bony landmarks of the spine [2][3][4][5] and thorax [6,7]. The position of individual vertebrae and their reciprocal angles is currently estimated as constant (population-based) fractions of the measured entire lumbar and/or thoracic segment angles using musculoskeletal models [8][9][10], recently reviewed in Alemi et al [11].…”