Compensatory biomechanics and spinal loading during dynamic maneuvers in patients with chronic low back pain

Purpose This study explores the biomechanics underlying the sit-to-stand (STS) functional maneuver in chronic LBP patients to understand how different spinal disorders and levels of pain severity relate to unique compensatory biomechanical behaviors. This work stands to further our understanding of the relationship between spinal loading and symptoms in LBP patients. Methods We collected in-clinic motion data from 44 non-specific LBP (NS-LBP) and 42 spinal deformity LBP (SD-LBP) patients during routine clinical visits. An RGB-depth camera tracked 3D joint positions from the frontal view during unassisted, repeated STS maneuvers. Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) for back pain (VAS) and low back disability (ODI) were collected during the same clinical visit. Results Between patient groups, SD-LBP patients had 14.3% greater dynamic sagittal vertical alignment (dSVA) and 10.1% greater peak spine torque compared to NS-LBP patients ( p