Article

Neurogenic intermittent claudication is a main symptom in lumbar spinal stenosis
(LSS), and postural change is often observed during walking. This study aimed to
identify the changes in posture and muscle activity in the trunk and legs during
walking in patients with LSS by examining 6 patients who had undergone
decompression surgery. None of them had significant paralysis. Gait analysis
using Vicon motion capture system(R) with electromyographic recordings of the
paravertebral muscles (PVM) and vastus lateralis muscle (VL) was performed
preoperatively and 2 weeks postoperatively. Results showed that the thorax angle
indicating the degree of trunk flexion after walking decreased significantly and
the pelvic angle tended to decrease after surgery.
However, there were no
difference in the spine angle, which is a measure of the motion of the
thoraco-lumbar spine among the evaluations.
The knee angle increased
significantly after surgery both at the beginning and at the end of walking, but
the angles of the hip and ankle did not change significantly after surgery. Knee
torques increased significantly after surgery both at the beginning and at the
end of walking. The activity of the PVM decreased and that of the VL increased
after surgery. The results indicate that patients with LSS walk in a
forward-bending position without flexing the spine, which can be one of the
neurologic symptoms. Increases in knee torque and VL activity seemed to reflect
the increase of walking speed, and the decrease of PVM activity appeared to be
caused by postural improvement after surgery.
CI - Copyright A(c) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS