Running biomechanics differ during and after pregnancy compared to females who have never been pregnant.

Background: Perinatal running participation has increased recently; however, pregnancy related symptoms can limit activity. Perinatal running biomechanics could inform interventions to help perinatal individuals maintain an active lifestyle.

Research Question: Are perinatal running biomaechanics and muscle activation different compared to nulligravida females?

Methods: Sixteen pregnant participants completed self-selected velocity running during second trimester (2 T), third trimester (3 T), and postpartum (PP) and 16 matched controls completed these procedures once in this case control study.

Combining Static and Dynamic Myofascial Dry Cupping Therapy to Improve Local and Regional Symptoms in Individuals with Low Back Pain: A Case Series.

Introduction: Chronic low back pain is a common musculoskeletal healthcare presentation with an expense of over $100 billion annually. The clinical effect of myofascial cupping on pain and function is not clear, especially when different cupping techniques are combined. The purpose of this case series was to explore changes in pain and function following local static and distal dynamic myofascial dry cupping treatments in patients with chronic low back pain.

Understanding the Biering-Sørensen test: Contributors to extensor endurance in young adults with and without a history of low back pain.

The Biering-Sørensen test is commonly used to assess paraspinal muscle endurance. Research using a single repetition of the test has provided conflicting evidence for the contribution of impaired paraspinal muscle endurance to low back pain (LBP). This study investigated how Sørensen test duration, muscle activation, and muscle fatigability are affected by multiple repetitions of the test and determined predictors of Sørensen test duration in young adults with and without a history of LBP.

Classifying Unstable and Stable Walking Patterns Using Electroencephalography Signals and Machine Learning Algorithms.

Analyzing unstable gait patterns from Electroencephalography (EEG) signals is vital to develop real-time brain-computer interface (BCI) systems to prevent falls and associated injuries. This study investigates the feasibility of classification algorithms to detect walking instability utilizing EEG signals. A 64-channel Brain Vision EEG system was used to acquire EEG signals from 13 healthy adults.

Identifying the neural correlates of anticipatory postural control: A novel fMRI paradigm.

Altered postural control in the trunk/hip musculature is a characteristic of multiple neurological and musculoskeletal conditions. Previously it was not possible to determine if altered cortical and subcortical sensorimotor brain activation underlies impairments in postural control. This study used a novel fMRI-compatible paradigm to identify the brain activation associated with postural control in the trunk and hip musculature.

The Effect of Spinal Muscle Fatigue and Psychosocial Factors on Pressure-Pain Threshold in Healthy Adults.

Objective: Pain sensitivity decreases following isometric exercise. It is not clear whether this exercise-induced hypoalgesia (EIH) occurs to the same extent in men and women. It is also unclear if the effect is systemic or local to the exercised musculature.

Understanding the Biering-Sørensen test: contributors to extensor endurance in young adults with and without low back pain.

Impaired paraspinal muscle endurance may contribute to persistent low back pain (LBP) and is frequently assessed using a single repetition of the Biering-Sørensen test. This study investigated how Sørensen test duration, muscle activation, and muscle fatigability are affected by multiple repetitions of the test, and determined predictors of Sørensen test duration in young, active adults with and without a history of LBP. Sixty-four individuals with and without persistent LBP performed 3 repetitions of the Sørensen test.

Comparison of clinical and biomechanical characteristics between individuals with lower limb amputation with and without lower back pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Lower back pain is a debilitating condition common to individuals with lower limb amputation. It is unclear what risk factors contribute to the development of back pain. This study systematically reviewed and analyzed the available evidence regarding the clinical and biomechanical differences between individuals with amputation, with and without lower back pain.

An exploratory analysis of gait biomechanics and muscle activation in pregnant females with high and low scores for low back or pelvic girdle pain during and after pregnancy.

Background: The purpose of this study was to compare gait kinematics, kinetics, and muscle activation between pregnant females with high and low scores for low back and/or pelvic girdle pain during and after pregnancy.

Methods: Twenty participants tested during second trimester, third trimester, and again post-partum. At each session, motion capture, force plates, and surface electromyography data were captured during self-selected velocity over-ground walking.

Do people with low back pain walk differently? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The biomechanics of the trunk and lower limbs during walking and running gait are frequently assessed in individuals with low back pain (LBP). Despite substantial research, it is still unclear whether consistent and generalizable changes in walking or running gait occur in association with LBP. The purpose of this systematic review was to identify whether there are differences in biomechanics during walking and running gait in individuals with acute and persistent LBP compared with back-healthy controls.

Self-paced treadmills do not allow for valid observation of linear and nonlinear gait variability outcomes in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Background: Due to the imposed constant belt speed, motorized treadmills are known to affect linear and nonlinear gait variability outcomes. This is particularly true of patients with Parkinson's Disease where the treadmill can act as an external pacemaker. Self-paced treadmills update the belt speed in response to the subject's walking speed and might, therefore, be a useful tool for measurement of gait variability in this patient population.

Fear Avoidance Predicts Persistent Pain in Young Adults With Low Back Pain: A Prospective Study.

Objectives: To (1) quantify relationships between low back pain (LBP) symptoms, physical activity, and psychosocial characteristics in young adults and (2) identify subclasses of young adults with distinct pain trajectories.

Design: Prospective cohort study with 12-month follow-up.

Methods: One hundred twenty adults (mean ± SD age, 20.

Adaptations in trunk-pelvis coordination variability in response to fatiguing exercise.

Background: During walking, variability in how movement is coordinated between body segments from stride to stride facilitates adaptation to changing environmental or task constraints. Magnitude of this inter-segmental coordination variability is reduced in patient populations and may also decrease in response to muscle fatigue. Previously, stride-to-stride variability has been quantified with the Vector Coding (VC) method, however recent research introduced a new Ellipse Area Method (EAM) to avoid statistical artifacts associated with VC.

Lower extremity kinetics and muscle activation during gait are significantly different during and after pregnancy compared to nulliparous females.

Background: Low back, pelvic, and lower extremity pain are common during and after pregnancy. Understanding differences in mechanics between pregnant and non-pregnant females is a first step toward identifying potential pathological mechanisms. The primary purpose of this study was to compare joint kinetics and muscle activation during gait between females during and after pregnancy to nulliparous females.

Biomechanical characteristics of lumbar manipulation performed by expert, resident, and student physical therapists.

Background: Lumbar manipulation is a commonly used treatment for low back pain, but little research evidence exists regarding practitioner biomechanics during manipulation. Most existing evidence describes rate of force production through the hands into instrumented manikins and it is unclear how the practitioner moves their body and legs to generate this force.

Objectives: To identify and characterize important kinetic and kinematic factors in practitioners of varying experience performing lumbar manipulation in order to identify which factors distinguish experts from less experienced practitioners.

Corticomotor Excitability of Gluteus Maximus Is Associated with Hip Biomechanics During a Single-Leg Drop-Jump.

The purpose of this study was to determine the association between corticomotor excitability (CME) of gluteus maximus (GM) and hip biomechanics during a single-leg drop-jump task. Thirty-two healthy individuals participated. The slope of the input-output curve (IOC) obtained from transcranial magnetic stimulation was used to assess CME of GM.

Task-invariance and reliability of anticipatory postural adjustments in healthy young adults.

Background: Anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs) occur in the trunk during tasks such as rapid limb movement and are impaired in individuals with musculoskeletal and neurological dysfunction. To understand APA impairment, it is important to first determine if APAs can be measured reliably and which characteristics of APAs are task-invariant.

Research Question: What is the test-retest reliability of latency, amplitude and muscle activation patterns (synergies) of trunk APAs during arm-raise and leg-raise tasks, and to what extent are these APA characteristics invariant across tasks at the individual and group levels?

Methods: 15 young adults (mean age: 23.

Reduced Trunk Coupling in Persons With Recurrent Low Back Pain Is Associated With Greater Deep-to-Superficial Trunk Muscle Activation Ratios During the Balance-Dexterity Task.

Background: Motor control dysfunction persisting during symptom remission in persons with recurrent low back pain (LBP) may contribute to the recurrence of pain.

Objectives: To investigate trunk control in persons in remission from recurrent LBP and in back-healthy controls using a dynamic, internally driven balance task. No differences in task performance were expected between groups, but it was hypothesized that persons with recurrent LBP would exhibit greater trunk coupling, consistent with a trunk-stiffening strategy.

Anticipatory postural adjustments and spatial organization of motor cortex: evidence of adaptive compensations in healthy older adults.

During anticipated postural perturbations induced by limb movement, the central nervous system generates anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs) in the trunk and hip musculature to minimize disturbances to equilibrium. Age-related changes in functional organization of the nervous system may contribute to changes in APAs in healthy older adults. Here we examined if altered APAs of trunk/hip musculature in older adults are accompanied by changes in the representation of these muscles in motor cortex.

Risk Factors Associated With Low Back Pain in Golfers: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Context:: Low back pain is common in golfers. The risk factors for golf-related low back pain are unclear but may include individual demographic, anthropometric, and practice factors as well as movement characteristics of the golf swing.

Objective:: The aims of this systematic review were to summarize and synthesize evidence for factors associated with low back pain in recreational and professional golfers.

Insertion and Presence of Fine-Wire Intramuscular Electrodes to the Lumbar Paraspinal Muscles Do Not Affect Muscle Performance and Activation During High-Exertion Spinal Extension Activities.

Background: Low back pain (LBP) is commonly associated with paraspinal muscle dysfunctions. A method to study deep lumbar paraspinal (ie, multifidus) muscle function and neuromuscular activation pattern is intramuscular electromyography (EMG). Previous studies have shown that the procedure does not significantly impact muscle function during activities involving low-level muscle contractions.

The influence of divided attention on walking turns: Effects on gait control in young adults with and without a history of low back pain.

The cognitive control of gait is altered in individuals with low back pain, but it is unclear if this alteration persists between painful episodes. Locomotor perturbations such as walking turns may provide a sensitive measure of gait adaptation during divided attention in young adults. The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in gait during turns performed with divided attention, and to compare healthy young adults with asymptomatic individuals who have a history of recurrent low back pain (rLBP).

Adaptations of lumbar biomechanics after four weeks of running training with minimalist footwear and technique guidance: Implications for running-related lower back pain.

Objectives: To investigate the changes in lumbar kinematic and paraspinal muscle activation before, during, and after a 4-week minimalist running training.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: University research laboratory.

The motor cortical representation of a muscle is not homogeneous in brain connectivity.

Functional connectivity patterns of the motor cortical representational area of single muscles have not been extensively mapped in humans, particularly for the axial musculature. Functional connectivity may provide a neural substrate for adaptation of muscle activity in axial muscles that have both voluntary and postural functions. The purpose of this study was to combine brain stimulation and neuroimaging to both map the cortical representation of the external oblique (EO) in primary motor cortex (M1) and supplementary motor area (SMA), and to establish the resting-state functional connectivity associated with this representation.

How should we teach lumbar manipulation? A consensus study.

Background: Spinal manipulation is an effective intervention for low back pain, yet there is little consistency in how this skill is taught.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify what educators and clinicians believe are important characteristics of the patient and operator position prior to side-lying lumbar manipulation and the patient position and operator motion during the manipulative thrust.

Design: A multi-disciplinary correspondence-based Delphi method.