Effects of the Biofeedback Units during PNF Pattern on the Abdominal Muscle Activity and Pelvic Rotation Angle in Patients with Chronic Back Pain

Jin Park

doi:10.13189/saj.2021.090503

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to provide clinical information by comparing abdominal muscle activity and lumbopelvic rotation angle according to proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) lower pattern with pressure biofeedback unit or PNF lower pattern without pressure biofeedback unit in patients with chronic back pain. Methods: In this study, 20 patients with low back pain were instructed to perform PNF lower pattern with biofeedback unit and PNF lower pattern without biofeedback unit. Surface electromyography data were collected from the ipsilateral internal oblique (IIO), contralateral external oblique (CEO), ipsilateral rectus abdominal (IRA) muscles, and lumbopelvic rotation angle were measured using the motion analysis device. Results: The activation of all abdominal muscles was found greater in PNF lower pattern with biofeedback unit than that PNF lower pattern without biofeedback unit. The degree of lumbopelvic rotation angle in PNF lower pattern with biofeedback unit was found lower than that PNF lower pattern without biofeedback unit(p<0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that PNF lower pattern with biofeedback unit is effective in increasing abdominal muscle activity and decreasing unwanted lumbopelvic rotation in patients with chronic low back pain. Therefore, if you want to apply the PNF lower pattern to patients with chronic low back pain, it is considered effective to control the pelvis using the biofeedback unit.

Highlights

Low back pain is a common musculoskeletal disorder, and most people experience low back pain during their lives
It was found that the muscle activity of the internal abdominal, external abdominal, and rectus abdominal muscle was statistically significantly improved when the proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) pattern was performed with the biofeedback unit compared to the PNF pattern without the biofeedback unit (p
This study investigated the effect of using a pressure biofeedback unit to control trunk stability on the change of abdominal muscle activity and pelvic rotation angle when applying the PNF pattern to strengthen the hip abductor muscle and hip extensor muscle in chronic low back pain patients

Summary

Introduction

Low back pain is a common musculoskeletal disorder, and most people experience low back pain during their lives. 40% of people develop chronic low back pain that lasts for at least 12 weeks [1][2]. Such chronic low back pain can be caused by various causes, especially the instability of the lumbar spine and weakening of the lower extremity muscle strength are one of the causes of chronic low back pain [3]. In patients with chronic low back pain, if the lower limbs are repeatedly moved during their daily life, excessive movement in the lumbosacral spine occurs, which soon worsens low back pain. Among the lower limb patterns of the PNF pattern, there are hip Effects of the Biofeedback Units during PNF Pattern on the Abdominal Muscle Activity and Pelvic Rotation Angle in Patients with Chronic Back Pain flexion-abduction-internal rotation patterns, hip extension-adduction-external rotation patterns, and hip extension-abduction-external rotation patterns [7]

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Conclusion