Range of motion of the lumbar spine required for four activities of daily living.

Abstract

To assess the range of motion of the lumbar spine required for four activities of daily living.Descriptive study.Chiropractic college research laboratory.Forty-eight young and healthy subjects.OSI CA-6000 computerized spinal motion analyzer.The intraclass correlation coefficient ranged from .99-.95 for peak flexion measurements. Stand-to-sit and sit-to-stand activities required approximately 56-66% of lumbar flexion. Putting on socks required about 90% of lumbar flexion. Picking an object off the floor required almost full lumbar flexion (95%). Analysis of variance showed significant differences among all four activities (p < .001). Scheffe tests revealed that the differences were found between sit/stand activities and picking up an object from the floor, and also between sit/stand activities and putting on socks.We showed that four activities of daily living could be reliably measured by an OSI CA-6000 motion analyzer. Putting on socks and picking up an object off the floor were found to require more lumbar flexion motion than sit/stand activities. Also, different strategies were observed in performing these activities. Future research shall address these activities and their changes in low back pain patients.