Biomechanics, the application of mechanical principles to living organisms. The body's biomechanics are present in all things we do in everyday life.
Biomechanics of the spine helps physical therapist like myself and the staff here at Lakeway Aquatic Physical Therapy to understand how all the bony and soft spinal components contribute individually and together to ensure spinal stability, and how traumas, tumours and degenerative disorders exert destabilizing effects to our body.
Clinical problems of the human spine continue to be prevalent in our society. Examples include low-back pain, sciatica, spinal deformity in both adults and children, spinal tumors, and spinal injury, including trauma to the spinal cord. Given that these clinical problems remain largely unsolved and that the spine plays an important mechanical role in human function, it is thus not a surprise that biomechanical research on the spine has expanded at a rapid pace. In June 2015 research reports showed that symptomatic lumbar spinal stenosis is a leading cause of pain and mobility limitation in older adults. It is clinically believed that patients with lumbar spinal stenosis adopt a flexed trunk posture or bend forward and alter their gait pattern to improve tolerance for walking. However, a biomechanical assessment of spine posture and motion during walking and movement is an excellent way for these types of patients to get help with their lower back pain.
The purpose of this blog it to educate people as to the importance of biomechanics in our everyday life and how a physical therapy evaluation with biomechanics as the forefront of the evaluation and treatment can help with lower back pain.
So for those of you who know you have that forward posture and have lower back pain what can you do?
Tip #1 - Start Physical Therapy
Physical therapy has been shown to improve lower back pain. But for those of you that want a more biomechanical look at your back pain.
Come see us here at Lakeway Aquatic Physical Therapy
Tip #2 - Stay Active
Our evidence shows us over and over again that light exercises helps pain more than drugs, surgery or any other modalities.
"Biomechanical movements are part of your everyday life, Isn't it time you started becoming more aware of your biomechanics as you perform your activities of daily living " – Dr. Melody Medley-Keith- human biomechanical specialist
Start you new year off right- let's get you back to pain free movements using both land and water physical therapy.
Call us today 512 261-6620. Lakeway Aquatic Physical Therapy (Rehab Faster with Less Pain)
References
Alemi, M. M., Burkhart, K. A., Lynch, A. C., Allaire, B. T., Mousavi, S. J., Zhang, C., et al. (2021). The Influence of Kinematic Constraints on Model Performance during Inverse Kinematics Analysis of the Thoracolumbar Spine. Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol. 9, 688041. doi:10.3389/fbioe.2021.688041 PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar
Beaucage-Gauvreau, E., Robertson, W. S. P., Brandon, S. C. E., Fraser, R., Freeman, B. J. C., Graham, R. B., et al. (2019). Validation of an OpenSim Full-Body Model with Detailed Lumbar Spine for Estimating Lower Lumbar Spine Loads during Symmetric and Asymmetric Lifting Tasks. Comput. Methods Biomech. Biomed. Eng. 22, 451–464. doi:10.1080/10255842.2018.1564819 CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar
Bruno, A. G., Bouxsein, M. L., and Anderson, D. E. (2015). Development and Validation of a Musculoskeletal Model of the Fully Articulated Thoracolumbar Spine and Rib Cage. J. Biomech. Eng. 137, 081003. doi:10.1115/1.4030408 PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar