Low back pain development response to sustained trunk axial twisting

PURPOSE: To investigate if there is an effect of sustained trunk axial twisting on the development of low back pain. METHODS: Sixteen male pain-free university students volunteered for this study. The trunk axial twisting was created by a torsion moment of 50 Nm for 10-min duration. The axial rotational creep was estimated by the transverse camera view directly on the top of the head. The visual analog scale in low back area was examined both in the initial and at the end of twisting. Each performed three trials of lumbar flexion–extension with the cycle of 5 s flexion and 5 s extension in standing before and after twisting. Surface electromyography from bilateral erector spinae muscles as well as trunk flexion performance was recorded synchronously in video camera. A one-way ANOVA with repeated measures was used to evaluate the effect of twist. RESULTS: The results showed that there was a significant (p < 0.001) twist creep with rotational angle 10.5° as well as VAS increase with a mean value 45 mm. The erector spinae was active in a larger angle during flexion as well as extension after trunk axial twisting. CONCLUSIONS: Sustained trunk axial twisting elicits significant trunk rotational creep. It causes the visual analog scale to have a significant increase, and causes erector spinae muscles to become active longer during anterior flexion as well as extension, which may be linked to the decrease of the tension ability of passive tissues in low back area, indicating a higher risk in developing low back pain.