OBJECTIVE To investigate the prognostic value of cross-sectional areas (CSA) of paraspinal (multifidus and erector spinae) and psoas muscles on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in chronicity of low back pain. METHOD Thirty-eight subjects who visited our hospital for acute low back pain were enrolled. Review of their medical records and telephone interviews were done. Subjects were divided int...

Biomechanical studies of rugby union scrummaging have focused on kinetic and kinematic analyses, while muscle activation strategies employed by front-row players during scrummaging are still unknown. The aim of the current study was to investigate the activity of spinal muscles during machine and live scrums. Nine male front-row forwards scrummaged as individuals against a scrum machine under "...

BACKGROUND To investigate the changes of cross sectional area (CSA) in paraspinal muscles upon magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal osteoporotic spinal compression fractures. METHODS We reviewed 81 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis, who had underwent MRI examination. The patients were divided into 51 patients who had osteoporotic spinal compre...

Quantitative descriptions of muscle architecture are needed to characterize the force-generating capabilities of muscles. This study reports the architecture of three major trunk muscles: the rectus abdominis, quadratus lumborum, and three columns of the erector spinae (spinalis thoracis, longissimus thoracis and iliocostalis lumborum). Musculotendon lengths, muscle lengths, fascicle lengths, s...

Purpose: The present research evaluated the effect of using a back brace for 8 weeks on the Electromyography (EMG) activity of the selected muscles among individuals with chronic back pain in the mid-stance phase of walking. Methods: This quasi-experimental research evaluated 22 women with chronic back pain in terms of erector spinae muscles activity, abdominal erectus, abdominal external obli...

[Purpose] This study investigated the effect of hip position on muscle onset time during prone hip extension with knee flexion. [Subjects] The study included 21 healthy male volunteers. [Methods] Muscle onset times of the right gluteus maximus, right hamstrings, bilateral lumbar erector spinae, and bilateral lumbar multifidus were measured using surface electromyography during right hip extensi...

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to analyze changes in the electromyographic activities of the lumbar erector spinae caused by inversion traction in order to verify the relaxation effect. [Subjects and Methods] The subjects included 60 healthy male adults who were equally and randomly assigned to a 30-30° group, a 30-60° group, and a 60-60° group. Inversion traction was performed for six...

The rate of decline in the median frequency (MF) of the surface EMG power spectrum (MFgrad) has been evaluated for its use in monitoring the fatigability of the erector spinae muscles during the performance of submaximal isometric contractions. MFgrad consistently displayed a highly significant relationship with endurance time for the task (p < 0.05), giving a slightly better correlation for co...

The aim of this study was to analyze the position of the lumbopelvic region and the muscle activation of erector spinae and biceps femoris muscles in a group of pregnant women in the third trimester. The hypothesis was that pregnancy-related biomechanical and morphological changes modify the position of the lumbopelvic region and the activation of extensor muscles. The position of the lumbar sp...

Lumbar posture is considered to play an important role in low back injury and is of importance during the rehabilitation of clients employed in manual handling occupations. This clinical commentary discusses the implications of lumbar posture on the biomechanical loads placed on the active and passive tissues of the spine, and the contribution the erector spinae play during tasks involving lift...