Article

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether proprioceptive impairments exist in patients with
low back pain (LBP). We hypothesized that patients with LBP would exhibit larger
trunk proprioception errors than healthy controls. DESIGN: Case-control study.
SETTING: University laboratory. PARTICIPANTS: 24 patients with nonspecific LBP
and 24 age-matched healthy controls. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME
MEASURES: We measured trunk proprioception in all 3 anatomical planes using
motion perception threshold, active repositioning, and passive repositioning
tests. RESULTS: LBP patients had significantly greater motion perception
threshold than controls (P<.001) (1.3+/-0.9 degrees vs 0.8+/-0.6 degrees ).
Furthermore, all subjects had the largest motion perception threshold in the
transverse plane (P<.001) (1.2+/-0.7 degrees vs 1.0+/-0.8 degrees for all other
planes averaged). There was no significant difference between LBP and healthy
control groups in the repositioning tasks. Errors in the active repositioning
test were significantly smaller than in the passive repositioning test (P=.032)
(1.9+/-1.2 degrees vs 2.3+/-1.4 degrees ). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest
that impairments in proprioception may be detected in patients with LBP when
assessed with a motion perception threshold measure.

Langue : ANGLAIS