The Effect of Lumbar Erector Spinae Muscle Endurance Exercise on Perceived Low-back Pain in Older Adults

Abstract

This study investigates changes in lumbar erector spinae (LES) muscle endurance, perceived low-back pain (LBP), and perceived exercise fatigue in older adults, and analyzes the trends of these changes during a 5-week lumbar exercise. Sixteen older adults with LBP were equally and randomly divided into two groups: the experimental group with incline-standing and the control group with the level-standing positions. They were separately treated with lumbar exercise tasks and 10 seconds of muscle endurance tests using surface electromyography (sEMG). There was a trend of changes in both groups. The exercise tasks led to increase LES muscle endurance in the experimental group (53.7%) and the control group (45.4%) and decrease perceived LBP score significantly with the incline-standing position. There was no significant difference between the two groups in perceived exercise fatigue (p>0.05). Trunk flexion and extension with an incline-standing position can be an effective method to increase LES muscle endurance and reduce LBP in older adults.