A simple device to monitor flexion and lateral bending of the lumbar spine

IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng. 2005 Mar;13(1):18-23. doi: 10.1109/TNSRE.2005.843446.

Abstract

Monitoring compliance with exercise and motivating patients with lower back pain to perform prescribed exercise regimens are considerable tasks. The objective of this study was to develop and test a low-cost device that can be used by a patient at home to both record and provide real-time biofeedback of lumbar position in the midsagittal and frontal planes during exercises. Our device utilizes strain gages on a thin stainless steel beam to measure lumbar flexion-extension and an optical mouse sensor attached to the end of the blade to measure lateral bending. In comparison tests with a standard electrogoniometer, our device was shown to be accurate within 3 degrees in both the sagittal and frontal planes in healthy subjects. Furthermore, users were capable of reapplying the device themselves and obtaining measurements that were repeatable within 4 degrees in both planes. The capability of this simple device to accurately measure lumbar spine position in a nonlaboratory setting makes it well suited as a tool for providing feedback on exercise performance to both patients and clinicians.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Equipment Design
  • Equipment Failure Analysis
  • Exercise Therapy / instrumentation*
  • Exercise Therapy / methods
  • Humans
  • Lumbar Vertebrae / physiology*
  • Male
  • Movement / physiology*
  • Physical Examination / instrumentation*
  • Physical Examination / methods
  • Range of Motion, Articular / physiology*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Transducers*