Balance Ability in Low Back Pain Patients With Lumbosacral Radiculopathy Evaluated With Tetrax: A Matched Case-Control Study

Abstract

<jats:p>Objective To compare postural balance ability in patients with low back pain between groups with and without lumbosacral radiculopathy.Methods Patients who were referred for electromyography because of low back pain during the period from April 2017 through June 2018 were chosen as subjects. They were divided into groups with and without lumbosacral radiculopathy based on the results of electromyography. We used Tetrax (Sunlight Medical Ltd., Ramat Gan, Israel) to objectively evaluate postural balance ability, and to measure the fall risk, stability index, weight distribution index, and Fourier index.Results Patients in the lumbosacral radiculopathy group showed significantly higher fall risk (73.25 vs. 38.00; p&lt;0.05), weight distribution index (8.57 vs. 5.00; p&lt;0.05), and stability index (21.19 vs. 13.16; p&lt;0.05) than those in the group without lumbosacral radiculopathy. The Fourier index at high-medium frequency was significantly increased in the lumbosacral radiculopathy group (8.27 vs. 5.56; p&lt;0.05), whereas weight-bearing on the side of radiculopathy was significantly decreased.Conclusion Patients with lumbosacral radiculopathy have decreased postural balance compared with patients without this condition. Somatosensory disturbances in lumbosacral radiculopathy might cause postural balance impairment. Assessment and treatment plan not only for pain reduction but also for postural balance improvement should be considered in the management of patients with lumbosacral radiculopathy.</jats:p>

Vibration Perception Threshold and Related Factors for Balance Assessment in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

“…The patients stood in the center of four force plates and were instructed to maintain eight different postures, such as head rotation, upward, and downward, with eyes open, eyes closed, and on unstable surfaces. In this study, the postural steadiness was estimated with reference to the fall risk index, ST, and FI for a medium to high frequency of 0.5–1 Hz [ 11 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ].…”

“…Fall risk index: The fall risk index is globally calculated using the data of ST, FI, WDI, and synchronization index, considering the oscillation velocities computed by the Tetrax ® program [ 34 , 36 , 37 ]. It is numerically expressed from 0 to 100.…”

“…A value of 0–36 indicates low risk, 37–58 indicates moderate risk, and 59–100 indicates high risk. A higher fall risk index indicates a greater risk of falling [ 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ].…”

“…The amount of postural sway is analyzed using the square root of the sum of the squared differences between consecutive pressure signals. Then, it is divided by the patient’s body weight [ 34 , 35 , 37 ]. A higher index score indicates more postural instability [ 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ].…”

“…It represents the frequency of postural sway within a variable spectrum between 0.01 and 3.0 Hz. Fourier power values are compared with the regression curve calculated by the software, evaluating the difference of coefficient between a graph of measured data and theoretically ideal regression [ 37 ]. The FI value for medium to high frequency of 0.5–1 Hz (F 5–6) is high when the patients present with somatosensory dysfunction of the lower extremities and spine [ 34 , 38 ].…”