Article

Objective : To assess the validity of the sitting position when testing
lumbar braces for the maintenance of lordosis. METHODS : Twelve young
adult subjects participated in the experiment, in which they were seated on force
platform. The four experimental conditions (with or without a brace and with or
without enforced lordosis) were chosen in order to distinguish between the roles
played by lordosis and the brace, respectively. The trajectories of the centre of
pressure (CP) were analyzed and compared, in order to assess postural orientation
and stabilisation processes. RESULTS: Although no effect was seen in terms of
orientation, our data showed that use of a lumbar brace led to a notable
reduction in CP displacement along the mediolateral and anteroposterior axes.
Lordosis barely affected postural performance and only an increase in the mean CP
velocity was observed. Lastly,
an analysis of variance failed to reveal an
interaction between the "lordosis" and "brace" factors. CONCLUSION: A lumbar
brace (in the absence or presence of lordosis) helps subjects to improve their
sitting performance. In contrast to previous studies based on the standing
posture, the fact that significant differences were found as a function of brace
wear emphasises the discriminant power of the sitting position. This task should
therefore be applied more widely in the development of more appropriate,
validated equipment for lower back pain sufferers.
CI - Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS ; FRANCAIS