Neurophysiologie Clinique | 2019
Knee posture and low back pain-related differences on postural control measurements in athletes. A case control study
Abstract
Introduction Compare postural control in athletes, with and without chronic low back pain (CLBP), during two one-legged stance tasks and identify center of pressure cut-off differences. Material and methods Fifty-six male athletes, 28 with and 28 without CLBP (mean age\xa0=\xa026 years) performed on a force platform: –\xa0one-legged stance with knee extension; –\xa0one-legged stance with the knee at a 30° flexion, both tasks with eyes open. Participants completed three 30-s trials (with 30-s of rest between each trial), and the mean across trials was used for subsequent analysis. Results Athletes with CLBP had poorer postural control (P\xa0 \xa07.1\xa0cm2 for COP area,\xa0>\xa02.6\xa0cm/s for COP sway velocity in the anterior-posterior direction and\xa0>\xa03.2\xa0cm/s for medio-lateral direction. In the knee flexion position, these variables were related to:\xa0>\xa010.9\xa0cm2 for COP area,\xa0>\xa02.9\xa0cm/s for COP sway velocity in the anterior-posterior direction and\xa0>\xa04.1\xa0cm/s for the medio-lateral direction. Both measures showed enough sensitivity and specificity (i.e., area under curve\xa0=\xa00.88 in extension and 0.80 in flexion). Conclusions Athletes with CLBP had poorer postural control than healthy athletes. Athletes with CLBP obtained specific cut-off scores on COP values for early detection of the effects of low back pain on balance.