Lumbar Flexion and Dynamic EMG Among Persons with Single Level Disk Herniation Pre- and Postsurgery with Radicular Low-Back Pain

Abstract

The paraspinal muscles often fail to relax on forward flexion in many persons with low-back pain. The goal of this prospective study was to determine whether this abnormal lack of a flexion-relaxation phenomenon corrects after lumbar diskectomy for symptoms of radiculopathy with low-back pain. Electromyographic testing was performed on 17 patients before and 30 days after lumbar diskectomy. Although pain improved significantly (P < 0.05), the flexion-relaxation phenomenon did not improve. Failure to recover muscle relaxation while pain is relieved suggests another mechanism for paraspinal activity.