View article

Temporal activation patterns from abdominal and lumbar muscles were compared between healthy control subjects and those with chronic low back pain.

A cross-sectional comparative study.

Synergist and antagonist coactivity has been considered an important neuromuscular control strategy to maintain spinal stability. Differences in onset times and amplitudes have been reported from trunk muscle EMG recordings between healthy subjects and those with low back pain;however, evaluating temporal EMG waveforms should demonstrate whether differences exist in the ability of those with and those without low back pain to respond to changing perturbations.

The Karhunen–Loève expansion was applied to the ensemble-average EMG profiles recorded from four abdominal and three trunk extensor muscle sites while subjects performed a leg-lifting task aimed at …