Lower-back related injuries in an athletic population are common and may have severe implications for the athletes sporting career. The focus of this work was to review epidemiology, intervention strategies, and recommendations for return to practice and competition for athletes with lumbar disc degeneration and herniated disc. Conservative treatments for discogenic degeneration and lumbar spine herniation are generally sufficient for athletic populations to restore functional movement. Athletes that fail to respond to conservative measures may consider lumbar discectomy, with high levels of return to pre- competition levels observed following effective surgery. Surgical procedures such as spinal fusion and disc replacement require careful consideration, and should only be recommended if the athlete fails to respond to vigorous conservative treatments. Spinal disc implants have durability and mechanical loading concerns, whereas spinal fusion may ultimately prevent participation in contact sports. Return to sports should be carefully recommended after the athlete demonstrates sufficient improvements in neuro-physiological, biomechanical, and psychological domains. The correct rehabilitative exercise programme is vital to the rehabilitation of athletes following injury, and should consider frequent monitoring of pain, range of motion and muscle function.
COBISS.SI-ID: 1536427972
It has been reported that altered neuromuscular control of the trunk is associated with lower back pain. In this context reflex delays of the trunk muscles have often been assessed but the reliability of the tests has not been well established. The aim of this study was to test the reliability of measuring reflex delays of the trunk muscles after two types of postural perturbations. Postural reflex delays to unexpected loading and unloading of the arms were assessed in a standing unrestrained position. Each subject performed 40 trials of each test in order to evaluate muscle responses of 5 trunk muscles using surface electromyography. Overall reliability increased with higher number of the averaged trials. Good intra-session (ICC3,1)0.75) and moderate (ICC3,1)0.60) inter-session reliability were reached in most of the monitored trunk muscles. Within the performed number of trials we did not observe any significant systematic intra- or inter-session bias effect. Averaging a higher number of consecutive trials would be recommended in future research and clinical practice.
COBISS.SI-ID: 1536544964
The aim of the study was to assess the differences in maximal isometric trunk extension and flexion strength during standing, sitting and kneeling. Additionally, we were interested in correla- tions between the maximal strength in sagittal, frontal and trans- verse plane, measured in the sitting position. Regardless of gender, two main findings were observed in the present study. First, trunk isometric extension strength in sagittal plane increased with increased hip joint flexion. An opposite trend was identified during the same pattern of flexion movement. Second, while testing the relation- ships of strength between various planes of trunk exertions, we found the strongest correlation between sagittal and transverse plane.
COBISS.SI-ID: 1536465348
Therapeutic Kinesio Taping method is used for treatment of various musculo-skeletal conditions. The aim of this study was to test if Kinesio Taping influences anticipatory postural adjustments and postural reflex reactions. Timing of anticipatory postural adjustments to fast voluntary arms movement and postural reflex reactions to sudden loading over the hands were measured by means of superficial electromyography before and one hour after each tape application. Taping application over lumbar region has potential beneficial effects on timing of anticipatory postural adjustments regardless of application technique but no effect on postural reflex reactions in young pain free participants. Further research in patients with low back pain would be encouraged.
COBISS.SI-ID: 1536646084
There are many everyday situations in which a supportive hand contact is required for an individual to counteract various postural perturbations. By emulating situations when balance of an individual is challenged, we examined functional role of supportive hand contact at different locations where balance of an individual was perturbed by translational perturbations of the support surface. We examined the effects of handle location, perturbation direction and perturbation intensity on the postural control and the forces generated in the handle. There were significantly larger centre-of-pressure (CoP) displacements for perturbations in posterior direction than for perturbations in anterior direction. Besides, the perturbation intensity significantly affected the peak CoP displacement in both perturbation directions. However, the position of the handle had no effects on the peak CoP displacement. On the contrary, there were significant effects of perturbation direction, perturbation intensity and handle position on the maximal force in the handle. The effect of the handle position was significant for the perturbations in posterior direction where the lowest maximal forces were recorded in the handle located at the shoulder height. They were comparable to the forces in the handle at eye height and significantly lower than the forces in the handle located either lower or further away from the shoulder. In summary, our results indicate that although the location of a supportive hand contact has no effect on the peak CoP displacement of healthy individuals, it affects the forces that an individual needs to exert on the handle in order to counteract support perturbations.
COBISS.SI-ID: 27755559