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Results of Sport-Specific Home Exercise Program

Despite billions of dollars spent every year on the treatment of low back pain (LBP), the cause of that pain remains a mystery. Researchers are actively seeking an understanding of the way the spine works.

In this study, electromyographic (EMG) activity of the muscles was used to compare trunk extension strength before and after an exercise program. The subjects were a group of amateur tennis players with and without LBP. The authors looked at patterns of muscle flexibility, neuromuscular imbalance, and spinal mobility.

The athletes were given daily exercises to do for seven weeks. The exercises included strength, mobilization, coordination, and stretching of the trunk and low back. No weight training or resistance exercises were allowed during this period.

Before the exercise program, 85 per cent of the athletes with LBP had neuromuscular imbalances of the erector spinae (ES) muscle. The ES is a large muscle mass on either side of the spine. Only 25 per cent of the athletes without LBP showed signs of imbalance. And a small number of athletes without LBP tested positive for neuromuscular imbalance.

Both groups had increased extension strength after exercise. Analysis of the data before and after showed that neuromuscular imbalance and trunk extension strength were not linked. Flexibility of the ES was much more important to LBP. There was a strong relationship between neuromuscular imbalance and LBP.

The most important finding from this study was that right-handed players had lower muscle activity in the left ES and vice versa. The authors aren't sure if these imbalances came before or after the LBP. The good news is that the imbalance can be corrected through a reconditioning exercise program.

References: Tobias Renkawitz, MD, et al. The Association of Low Back Pain, Neuromuscular Imbalance, and True Extension in Athletes. In The Spine Journal. November/December 2006. Vol. 6. No. 6. Pp. 673-683.

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