Transcript Slide 1
Lumbar Spine
Core
Shelley Payne, MS, PT, ATC
ATHT 340
Structure and Function
Primary and
Secondary Curves
Structure and Function
Body of vertebrae is
not solid bone, but
cortical bone
Better able to absorb
forces and minimize
weight of total
vertebra
Neural Arch
Pars Interarticularis
(lamina)
Movement Assessment
Lumbar flexion, extension,
rotation, and side-bending
ROM
Can measure distance from
floor OR use an inclinometer
Lumbo-pelvic Rhythm?
Looking for “aberrant motion”
(instability catch, painful arc,
“thigh climbing”, reversal of
lumbopelvic rhythm)
?Lumbopelvic Rhythm?
Lumbar Flexion/Extension
Flexors act to balance
pull of back extensors
in standing… they are
NOT “active”
Multifidus deep to
erector spinae
Back extensors
NECESSARY to
maintain stability in
standing
Lumbar Flexion/Extension
Flexion of trunk against
gravity requires anterior
abdominal muscles (ie, a
sit-up)
Forward flexion is mostly
produced by gravity
Agonists?
Antagonists? What mode?
Implications for Lifting
Extensors at
maximum length with
fwd flexion (lengthtension relationship)
Fwd flexion
significantly increases
intradiskal pressure in
lumbar area
Implications for Lifting
Don’t TWIST!
Annulus fibrosis resists
torsion, but risk of disc
rupture increases if you
bend and rotate at the
same time
Flexibility Assessment
SLR… will discuss later
Hip IR/ER
Ober’s
Thomas Test
Glut and Hip rotator
tightness clinically
significant! WHY? What
is the implication for the
lumbar spine?
What is “The Core”
Defined as the lumbarpelvic-hip complex
Location of our Center
of Gravity
“Stabilizing Corset”
Forms hoop around
abdomen
Active portion fired via
transverse abdominus
What is “The Core”
Erector Spinae
Quadratus Lumborum
Latissimus Dorsi
Multifidus
Abdominals
Abdominals
Rectus Abdominus: eccentric deceleration
of trunk extension & lateral flexion
External Obliques: concentric opposite
rotation and same lateral flexion; eccentric
trunk extension, rotation and lateral flexion
Abdominals
Internal Obliques: Synergist to Transverse
Abdominus
Transverse Abdominus: stabilization
against rotation
IO & TA contract in a feed-forward
mechanism prior to limb movement!!!
What Can The “Core” Do For You?
Force Reduction (Eccentric Contractions)
Dynamic Stabilization
Relationship to the kinetic chain
The SCARY Low Back
Let the evaluation DRIVE your treatment
plan!!!
Know your patient population
Use the subjective evaluation and patient
population to narrow the focus of your
evaluation
Clinical Prediction Rules
“A pathology-based approach to diagnosis
for LBP has proven difficult because of the
inability to identify a structural pathology in
the vast majority of patients with LBP.”
Classifying patients into subgroups (age,
symptom duration, distribution) could guide
diagnosis and treatment of LBP
(Hicks GE et al. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2006: 86;1753-1762.)
Lumbar Stabilization Programs
Exercises designed to improve spinal
stabilization have gained popularity in the
conservative treatment of patients with LBP
How do we know which patients will
respond to this model of treatment?
Lumbar Segmental Instability
Unique subgroup of patients with LBP
Condition in which there is a loss of
stiffness between spinal motion segments
“If LSI could be accurately diagnosed, the
conservative treatment of choice would be
a lumbar stabilization program…” (Hicks)
Special Tests
Prone Instability Tests
-if pain is present on passive
provocation testing of the
vertebral levels but disappears
when spinal extensors are
active, then the muscle activity
may be able to stabilize the
segment and reduce the pain
Lumbar segmental
mobility testing…limited
mobility in one area
often leads to
hypermobiility in another
Core Stability Assessment
Side Support Test
Extensor Endurance
Active sit-up
(Sahrmann MMT
grades)
Active bilateral SLR
test OR bilateral leg
lowering test
Strength Assessment
DO NOT forget the hip
abductors and their
contribution to core
stability…base of support
for core structures
Hip extensors also
important in their
contributions to extensor
strength…stabilizers of
the trunk over a planted
leg
One leg standing balance
ability (Trendelenburg)
One leg squat
Three-plane core strength
test (Kibler)… no reliability
or validity has been done
Sacroiliac Joint
Permit small amount of motion that varies
among individuals
SI joint and the pubic symphysis are linked
in the CKC… movement in one causes
movement in the other
Muscle attachments near the pubic
symphysis?
Muscle attachments to the sacrum?
SI joint anatomy
SI joint
anatomy
Clinical Prediction Rule
SI Joint Dysfunction
Clinically this subgroup
with LBP responds
favorably to manipulation
Muscle energy
techniques and/or
mobilization are
appropriate
May help explain cases
that are not improving
Assessment of SI Joint
Provocation, Motion and Pelvic Symmetry
Tests
(Flynn et al. Spine. 2002:27(24); 2835-2843)
Provocation tests more reliable
(Gaenslen, Sacral Sulcus)
Clinically, malleolar height, ASIS and
PSIS height are helpful
Clinical Prediction Rule
Spinal Manipulation
More recent onset of symptoms (<16 days)
One hip with >350 internal rotation ROM
Hypomobility of the lumbar spine (lumbar
segmental testing)
No symptoms distal to the knee
Other Special Tests
Significant SLR
Decreased SLR ROM
is related to presence
of radiculopathy and
generally a worse
prognosis
How is this different
than hamstring
tightness?
Measuring Success
Modified Oswestry Low Back Disability Index
http://moon.ouhsc.edu/dthompso/CDM/osmod.doc
RED FLAGS
Loss of bowel or bladder function
Symptoms unrelated to position or movement,
especially night pain and/or night sweats
Unexplained weight loss of more than 5 kg
History of direct blunt trauma
Abdominal pain with radiation into groin
Body temp > 1000 F
Resting HR > 100 bpm
Resting respiration greater than 25 breaths/min
References
Brennan GP, Fritz JM, Hunter SJ, Thackeray A, Delitto A, Erhard RE.
Identifying subgroups of patients with acute/subacute “nonspecific” low
back pain. Spine. 2006;31(6):623-631.
Hicks GE, Fritz JM, Delitto A, McGill SM. Preliminary development of a
clinical prediction rule for determining which patients with low back pain will
respond to a stabilization exercise program. Arch Phys Med Rehabil.
2005;86:1753-1762.
Flynn T, Fritz J, Whitman J, Wainner R, Magel J, Rendeiro D, Butler B,
Garber M, Allison S. A clinical prediction rule for classifying patients with
low back pain who demonstrate short-term improvement with spinal
manipulation. Spine. 2002;27(24):2835-2843.
Kibler WB, Press J. Sciascia. The role of core stability in athletic function.
Sports Med. 2006;36(3):189-198.
Manal TJ, Claytor R. The Delitto Classification scheme and the
management of lumbar-spine dysfunction. Athletic Therapy Today.
2005:9;17-25.