Annalena Ulsperger (Basel / CH), David Koch (Basel / CH), Dr. Corina Nüesch (Basel / CH), Prof. Dr. Stefan Schären (Basel / CH), Prof. Annegret Mündermann (Basel / CH), PD Dr. Cordula Netzer (Basel / CH)
Abstract-Text (inkl. Referenzen und Bildunterschriften)
Introduction It was previously shown that muscle quality correlates negatively with function in patients with sLSS[1], and that their posture may significantly change over time during walking[2].
Aim The aim of this study was to determine whether the influence of paraspinal muscle fatigue on static standing posture differs between patients with sLSS, elderly healthy persons, and young healthy persons.
Methods The observational pilot study included 10 patients with sLSS(5M/5F,71±10yr), 10 elderly healthy persons(5M/5F,65±5yr), and 10 young healthy persons(5M/5F,26±2yr). Sagittal whole body standing posture was assessed using the Vicon motion capture system and the CGM 2.3[3] full-body marker model. Flexion/extension angles of the neck, spine, knees, ankles, and pelvic tilt were extracted during static upright standing before and after a paraspinal muscle fatigue test. Kruskal-Wallis test and post-hoc Mann-Whitney-U tests(α=.05) were used to test for group differences in the absolute angle changes between conditions.
Results Significant differences in absolute angle changes were found between young persons and patients and young and elderly persons(p<.05), but not between patients and elderly persons. Although not significant, the variance and magnitude in absolute angle changes were greater in patients compared to the other groups(Fig.1).
Conclusion We provide first evidence that fatigue-induced postural changes in standing posture are comparable in patients with sLSS and elderly healthy persons and, therefore, may be age-dependent. Compared to the other groups, patients with sLSS had non-significant but noticeably greater intra-individual differences and larger fatigue-induced changes. The lack of significant differences could be an effect of the small group size and underlying age-related change. Funding: Gottfried und Julia Bangerter-Rhyner-Stiftung
1 Xia et al. 2021 BMC Musculoskelet Disord
2 Goto et al. 2017 Gait Posture
3 Leboeuf et al. 2019 Gait Posture