Evaluation of Spine Motion and Lower Back Muscle Activityin College Baseball Players with Low Back Pain

Low back pain (LBP) is a very frequent symptom in athletes, may accelerate retirement of the athletes. Although it is reported that the characteristics of spine motion and lower back muscle activity during forward bending for young adult and senior with LBP, no study has examined for athletes with. So, the purpose of this study was to evaluate spine motion and lower back muscle activity during forward bending of the trunk in college baseball players who had LBP. Six severe LBP athletes, six mild LBP athletes and seven healthy control in college baseball team participated in the study. A three-dimensional motion analysis system was used to measure the angles (trunk, lumbar spine, pelvic) and surface electromyography was used to measure muscle activities from both erector spinae at L2 and L5 during forward bending. As a result, it was difficult for the person with LBP to bend a body forward due to abnormal in lumbar vertebrae pelvis rhythm. In addition, muscle activities at L2 in person with LBP did not increase or reach its original level during forward bending for 60-100 degree. These results will provide information for athletes, instructors and treatments at the sports scene and will lead to a new objective evaluation method for LBP.