Do flexion/extension postures affect the in vivo passive lumbar spine response to applied axial twist moments?
Background: The injury potential and mechanical effects of combining axial rotation with non neutral flexion/extension postures in vivo remains poorly understood, despite being identified as a risk factor in epidemiological and in vitro studies. The purpose of this experiment was to quantify the passive axial twist motion of the lumbar spine in various postures, and to assess whether non neutral flexion/extension postures cause a detectable change in the range of twist motion and/or spine rotational stiffness.
