Article

Prolonged standing in an occupational setting has long been associated with the
development of low back pain. In response to this, researchers have investigated
various interventions that can alleviate low back pain and discomfort, such as
anti-fatigue mats, shoe insoles, and more recently, sloped platforms. The purpose
of this study was to investigate the effects of a sloped surface on kinematics
and trunk muscle thickness during quiet and prolonged occupational standing.
Eleven participants performed 1-min quiet standing tasks on three surfaces -
level ground, incline, and decline - followed by 16-min of prolonged standing in
each condition. Trunk, lumbar, and global pelvis angles were measured during each
standing condition, and muscle thickness measurements of erector spinae and the
lateral abdominal wall were taken during the quiet standing task. During quiet
standing, there were systematic changes in trunk, lumbar, and pelvis angles with
the different surfaces; however, these changes were not accompanied by systematic
changes in muscle thickness. The responses found during the quiet standing were
consistent during prolonged standing. As a result, the reduced perceived low back
pain found when using sloped platforms is likely not the result of changes in
morphology of the trunk musculature, but might be related to the altered
kinematics caused by standing on these platforms.
CI - Crown Copyright (c) 2012. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS