Effects of Attention on Walking in People with Chronic Low Back Pain
Author Information
Author(s): Claudine JC Lamoth, John F Stins, Menno Pont, Frederick Kerckhoff, Peter J Beek
Primary Institution: VU University Amsterdam
Hypothesis
Does attention affect the control of locomotion in individuals with chronic low back pain?
Conclusion
Individuals with chronic low back pain exhibit less variable upper body movements while walking, and this inflexibility worsens when they are required to focus on a cognitive task.
Supporting Evidence
- LBP sufferers walked slower and with shorter strides than controls.
- Stride length variability was significantly lower in the LBP group.
- Attention demanding tasks caused greater gait adaptations in individuals with LBP.
Takeaway
People with chronic back pain walk differently than those without it, and when they have to think about something else while walking, they become even less flexible in their movements.
Methodology
Participants walked on a treadmill under different attentional loads while their movements were recorded and analyzed.
Potential Biases
Potential selection bias in participant recruitment from a rehabilitation center.
Limitations
The study had a small sample size and focused only on specific cognitive tasks.
Participant Demographics
12 individuals with chronic low back pain (6 women, 6 men) and 14 pain-free controls (7 women, 7 men), mean age 45 years for LBP group.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.05
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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