[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of abdominal bracing
with low extremity movement on changes in thickness of abdominal muscles and lumbar
strength. [Subjects] Sixteen patients with chronic low back pain were randomly assigned to
two groups: an abdominal bracing with active straight leg raise (ABSLR) group and
abdominal bracing with ankle dorsiflexion (ABDF) group. [Methods] All subjects were
evaluated for their abdominal muscle strength using a MedX Lumbar Extension Machine and
thickness of external oblique (EO), internal oblique (IO), and transverse abdominis (TrA)
muscles using rehabilitative ultrasound imaging. Subjects in both groups were instructed
to perform Abdominal bracing (AB). Simultaneously, those in the ABSLR group performed
active SLR, and those in the ABDF group performed ankle dorsiflexion. [Results] In
comparison between the ABSLR and ABDF groups, significant differences in the thickness of
the IO and TrA muscles were observed after the intervention in the ABSLR group. Also,
lumbar strength was showed a significant increase in both groups after interventions.
[Conclusion] The results of this study demonstrated that ABSLR is a more effective method
than ABDF for improvement of abdominal stabilization by increasing the thicknesses of the
TrA and IO.
The purpose of this study was to identify whether cutaneous sensory (CS) changes induced by mechanical intervention (MI) increases the trigger point threshold of the same spinal segment as well as to investigate the relationship between the amounts of change in CS pressure pain thresholds (PPT). Design: Randomized controlled trial. Methods: Thirty-nine persons with myofacial pain (MFP) were recruited in this experiment. The subjects consisted of 20 men and 19 women (age 20-39). MI was applied on the subjects using the Graston technique for 5 minutes to induce CS changes. The CS changes were measured with sensory tests by using the Von Frey Filament, and PPT changes were estimated by using the pressure threshold meter. For the observation of sensory and PPT changes with time, the test was conducted for 15 minutes including a pre, post, and after intervention session. Results: CS threshold increased significantly when MI was applied (p<0.001). On the same spinal segment, changes in the right infraspinatus PPT was observed (p<0.001) but the PPT changes in other muscles were not significantly different. Furthermore, the control group CS and PPT were not significantly different. In addition, regression analysis showed that the CS changes have a larger impact on PPT in the same spinal segment (p<0.001). Conclusions: CS changes induced by MI make to change PPT on the same spinal segment. In other words, it is possible to identify PPT changes following CS changes except for the muscle which belongs to a different spinal segment. Therefore, application of MI is necessary for the CS changes in the same spinal segment. Furthermore, it can be useful in the clinical fields as a method of providing pain control and increasing the PPT.
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