Comparison of Intersegmental Coordination and Movement Variability in Athletes with and without Persistent Low Back Pain

Background. Persistent Low Back Pain (PLBP) is a prevalent musculoskeletal disor­der affecting 70-85% of the world population during their lifetime. PLBP may alter intersegmental coordination and movement variability. The current study aimed to compare pelvic, trunk, and lower extremity inter-segmental coordination patterns and movement variability in athletes with and without PLBP during free-speed gait. Methods. In this cross-sectional study, kinematic data were collected using an eight-camera motion analysis system (Vicon, Oxford Metrics, London, England) from 24 male basketball players’ gait at their own pace (n = 12 in the PLBP group and n = 12 in the non-PLBP group). The trunk-pelvis and bilateral pelvis-thigh, thigh-shank, and shank-foot coordination pattern and variability over the stance and swing phases of gait were quantified by deriving the mean absolute relative phase (MARP) and devi­ation phase (DP). Independent Samples T-test was used to compare group means for DP and MARP. Results. The PLBP group exhibited stronger synchronization and less movement vari­ability between the trunk and pelvis during different phases of movement. Moreover, the PLBP participants showed less consistent coordination between the pelvis and thigh in the sagittal, frontal, and transverse (rotational) planes during various phases of walking. Specifically, we observed that the PLBP group had more in-phase coordina­tion between the thigh and shank in the sagittal and frontal planes, as well as between the shank and foot in the sagittal and transverse planes. These findings collective­ly suggest that individuals with persistent low back pain exhibit distinct patterns of movement coordination compared to those without low back pain. Conclusions. It seems that the presence of PLBP may change lower extremity, pelvic, and trunk coordination and movement variability in all planes of motion. More in-phase coordination and less movement variability in athletes with PLBP may be the possible explanation for the high prevalence of reoccurrence of LBP in patients.