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Thoracolumbar and Lumbopelvic Spinal Alignment During the Barbell Back Squat: A Comparison Between Men and Women

BACKGROUND: Maintaining neutral spinal alignment is considered important when performing the barbell back squat exercise. Since male and female lifters may differ in injury location it is important to examine whether they differ in spinal alignment during the back squat. OBJECTIVES: The study aimed...

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Autores principales: Bengtsson, Victor, Berglund, Lars, Öhberg, Fredrik, Aasa, Ulrika
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: NASMI 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10399085/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37547841
http://dx.doi.org/10.26603/001c.83942
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author Bengtsson, Victor
Berglund, Lars
Öhberg, Fredrik
Aasa, Ulrika
author_facet Bengtsson, Victor
Berglund, Lars
Öhberg, Fredrik
Aasa, Ulrika
author_sort Bengtsson, Victor
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Maintaining neutral spinal alignment is considered important when performing the barbell back squat exercise. Since male and female lifters may differ in injury location it is important to examine whether they differ in spinal alignment during the back squat. OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to quantify the spinal alignment in the upper and lower lumbar spine during the barbell back squat exercise in male and female lifters. Secondary aims were to compare alignment during the back squat to standing habitual lumbar spine alignment and determine whether male and female lifters differ in these aspects. STUDY DESIGN: Observational, Cross-sectional. METHODS: Competitive power- and weightlifters were recruited and performed three repetitions of the barbell back squat exercise using a load equivalent to 70% of their one-repetition maximum. Spinal alignment and range of motion were measured using inertial measurement units placed on the thoracic, lumbar and sacral spine. Data was presented descriptively and comparisons between men and women as well as spinal alignment in four different positions were done with a factorial repeated measures analysis of variance. RESULTS: Twenty-three (14 males, 9 females) were included. During execution of the squat, spinal alignment adjustments in the lumbar spine were made in all three planes of movement, compared to the start position, in both male and female lifters. Compared to their standing habitual posture, all lifters adjusted their upper lumbar spine to a less lordotic position when in the start position of the back squat (standing upright with the barbell on their back). Only male lifters assumed a less lordotic alignment in their lower lumbar spine in the start position compared their habitual posture. CONCLUSIONS: Adjustments of spinal alignment, predominantly in the sagittal plane, are made during execution of the back squat in both male and female lifters. Further, lifters adopt a less lordotic alignment with a heavy barbell on their upper back, more so in male than female lifters. In conclusion, it seems that spinal alignment changes noticeably during the barbell back squat. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3
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spelling pubmed-103990852023-08-04 Thoracolumbar and Lumbopelvic Spinal Alignment During the Barbell Back Squat: A Comparison Between Men and Women Bengtsson, Victor Berglund, Lars Öhberg, Fredrik Aasa, Ulrika Int J Sports Phys Ther Original Research BACKGROUND: Maintaining neutral spinal alignment is considered important when performing the barbell back squat exercise. Since male and female lifters may differ in injury location it is important to examine whether they differ in spinal alignment during the back squat. OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to quantify the spinal alignment in the upper and lower lumbar spine during the barbell back squat exercise in male and female lifters. Secondary aims were to compare alignment during the back squat to standing habitual lumbar spine alignment and determine whether male and female lifters differ in these aspects. STUDY DESIGN: Observational, Cross-sectional. METHODS: Competitive power- and weightlifters were recruited and performed three repetitions of the barbell back squat exercise using a load equivalent to 70% of their one-repetition maximum. Spinal alignment and range of motion were measured using inertial measurement units placed on the thoracic, lumbar and sacral spine. Data was presented descriptively and comparisons between men and women as well as spinal alignment in four different positions were done with a factorial repeated measures analysis of variance. RESULTS: Twenty-three (14 males, 9 females) were included. During execution of the squat, spinal alignment adjustments in the lumbar spine were made in all three planes of movement, compared to the start position, in both male and female lifters. Compared to their standing habitual posture, all lifters adjusted their upper lumbar spine to a less lordotic position when in the start position of the back squat (standing upright with the barbell on their back). Only male lifters assumed a less lordotic alignment in their lower lumbar spine in the start position compared their habitual posture. CONCLUSIONS: Adjustments of spinal alignment, predominantly in the sagittal plane, are made during execution of the back squat in both male and female lifters. Further, lifters adopt a less lordotic alignment with a heavy barbell on their upper back, more so in male than female lifters. In conclusion, it seems that spinal alignment changes noticeably during the barbell back squat. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3 NASMI 2023-08-01 /pmc/articles/PMC10399085/ /pubmed/37547841 http://dx.doi.org/10.26603/001c.83942 Text en © The Author(s) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (4.0) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Original Research
Bengtsson, Victor
Berglund, Lars
Öhberg, Fredrik
Aasa, Ulrika
Thoracolumbar and Lumbopelvic Spinal Alignment During the Barbell Back Squat: A Comparison Between Men and Women
title Thoracolumbar and Lumbopelvic Spinal Alignment During the Barbell Back Squat: A Comparison Between Men and Women
title_full Thoracolumbar and Lumbopelvic Spinal Alignment During the Barbell Back Squat: A Comparison Between Men and Women
title_fullStr Thoracolumbar and Lumbopelvic Spinal Alignment During the Barbell Back Squat: A Comparison Between Men and Women
title_full_unstemmed Thoracolumbar and Lumbopelvic Spinal Alignment During the Barbell Back Squat: A Comparison Between Men and Women
title_short Thoracolumbar and Lumbopelvic Spinal Alignment During the Barbell Back Squat: A Comparison Between Men and Women
title_sort thoracolumbar and lumbopelvic spinal alignment during the barbell back squat: a comparison between men and women
topic Original Research
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10399085/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37547841
http://dx.doi.org/10.26603/001c.83942
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