Quantification of Lumbar Stability using Inertial Sensors

Joonnyong Lee, Keewon Kim1, Hee Chan Kim, Sun Chung

  • 1SEOUL NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

Details

12:00 - 13:45 | Mon 6 Nov | Auditorium Foyer, E1/E2, Upper Atrium Space | MLunch_Break.23

Session: Lunch, Posters and POC Technologies Demonstrations – Session I

Abstract

To quantify lumbar stability, the motor patterns during the wall plank-and-roll (WPR) test was measured using inertial sensors in young, old healthy subjects and LBP patients comprising 57 healthy subjects and 17 patients with axial low back pain (LBP). The subjects performed the WPR activity with 2 inertial sensors placed on the thoracic spine and sacrum. Relative angles between the sensors were calculated to characterize lumbar posture in 3 anatomical planes: axial twist (AT), kyphosis-lordosis (KL), and lateral bending (LB). The relative angles between the thorax and the sacrum at the initial and maximal rotating position, from which excursion was also calculated. Movement in the KL and LB axes showed little variation in healthy subjects, while in the AT axis, there were two dominant patterns. The older subjects had decreased lordosis at the static position (P = .02) and at the maximal rotating position (P = .03). As compared to the healthy subjects, LBP patients showed increasing lateral bending at the maximal rotating position (P = .007) and increased lateral bending excursion angle (P = .04) during the WPR test. Lumbar motion quantified by inertial sensors can be used to depict changes of motor patterns in relation with aging or LBP.