Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0999-3905

Date Available

4-28-2020

Year of Publication

2020

Degree Name

Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering

Document Type

Master's Thesis

College

Engineering

Department/School/Program

Biomedical Engineering

First Advisor

Dr. Babak Bazrgari

Abstract

Individuals with low back pain (LBP) demonstrate an abnormal lumbopelvic coordination compared to back-healthy individuals. This abnormal coordination presents itself as a reduction in lumbar contribution and an increase in pelvic contribution to trunk motion. This study investigated the ability of a hip orthosis to correct such an abnormal lumbo-pelvic coordination by restricting pelvic rotation and, as a result, increasing lumbar contributions. The effects of the hip orthosis on the magnitude and timing characteristics of lumbopelvic coordination were investigated in 20 patients with LBP and 20 asymptomatic controls. The orthosis significantly increased lumbar contributions by 11%, 5.42%, 4.84%, and 4.89% during forward bending, lateral bending to the left, and axial twisting to the left and right, respectively, and increased the amount of lumbar dominant motion during forward bending and return. Orthosis-induced changes in magnitude and timing aspects of lumbo-pelvic coordination were smaller in patients with LBP; likely because our relatively young patient group had smaller unrestricted pelvic rotations compared to asymptomatic individuals. However, the hip orthosis was capable of causing the expected changes in magnitude and timing aspects of lumbo-pelvic coordination in individuals with relatively large pelvic contributions to trunk motion; therefore, application of a hip orthosis may provide a method of correcting abnormal lumbopelvic coordination, particularly among patients with LBP who demonstrate large pelvic rotations, that warrants further investigation.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2020.170

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