Features of the Application of Instrumental Methods for Lumbosacral Muscle Groups Functional State Assessing

Abstract

The use of instrumental diagnosis methods is a way to form an individual strategy of rehabilitation treatment and effectiveness monitoring. However, there is a lack of methods for objective assessment of the muscle groups’ functional state in both patients with dorsopathy and healthy individuals, as well as incorrect use of existing diagnostic tools due to the lack of the regulatory framework. The subjects had no complaints on low back pain, and there was no history of pain episodes associated with spinal pathology. All the volunteers were comparable in height and weight before being included in the study. The study was conducted in accordance with the terms of the Helsinki Declaration, all subjects signed an informed consent before the start of diagnostic activities. Aim. To determine the normative values of the strength of the flexor muscle group (FM) and extensor muscles (EM) of the lumbosacral spine and to establish the ratio of the obtained results to the automatic hardware norm. Material and methods. The present clinical study included 22 healthy volunteers aged 23 to 61 years (the average age was 38.4±12.8 years), including 14 women (63.6%) and 8 men (36.4%). Results and discussion. The results obtained demonstrate that the real normative indicators for MS and MR in healthy individuals can vary in the range from the hardware norm value calculated automatically by the device to a value of 20% lower. Exceeding this parameter is not a pathological deviation. When assessing the muscle strength, a decrease in this indicator is of physiological and clinical significance, since it reflects the dysfunction of this area and is a predictor of the pain syndrome chronicity. Conclusion. The standard values findings allow us to assess correctly the initial clinical condition and use this instrumental method with biofeedback for patients with degenerative spinal lesion and non-specific pain in the lumbosacral region and patients who have undergone spinal surgery to develop individual rehabilitation programs. As a further prospect for the use of diagnostic systems with biofeedback, it is suggested that the examination plan should include the determination of the ratio of the FM strength to the EM strength, as well as the strength of the muscles involved in the lateral slopes of the trunk.