Article

Chronic low back pain (LBP) patients with radiculopathy, or sciatica, experience
pain, tingling or numbness radiating down their leg due to compression of the
lumbar nerve root. The resulting reduction in somatosensory information from the
foot sole may contribute to deficits in standing balance control. This work was
designed to investigate the relationship between foot skin sensitivity and
standing balance control in chronic LBP patients with associated radiculopathy.
Patients (n=9) and matched healthy controls (n=9) were recruited to the study,
and were tested for balance control in both quiet standing as well as during
rapid arm raise perturbation trials on a force plate. Foot skin sensitivity was
tested bilaterally for vibratory threshold (3, 40 and 250 Hz) and touch
(monofilament) threshold. Results demonstrate that patients had reduced
sensitivity to 250 Hz vibration in their affected compared to unaffected foot (at
the great toe and heel), as well as compared to controls (at the great toe), but
there were no differences with lower frequency vibratory testing or with
monofilament testing. While there were no significant between-group differences
in balance measures, moderate statistically significant correlations between 250
Hz sensitivity and quiet standing balance parameters were uncovered. Thus,
patients demonstrate reduced high-frequency vibratory sensitivity at the foot
sole, and correlations with quiet standing balance measures indicate a connection
between these foot skin sensitivity deficits and alterations in balance control.
Clinically, this identifies high frequency vibration testing as an important
measure of skin sensitivity in patients with radiculopathy.
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