Chronic Low Back Pain and the Iliopsoas Muscle
Whole body vibration (WBV) training as a therapeutic intervention is one of the approaches for chronic low back pain (CLBP). Different WBV parameters may have different effects on lumbar abdominal muscle performance, and few studies have investigated the effects of WBV training on CLBP patients due to lumbar abdominal muscle activity. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate how WBV and exercise and their interaction affect lumbar abdominal muscle activity in patients with CLBP.
A group of outpatients with chronic low back pain
and participants performed four different exercises (single bridge, thick plate, side stay) while muscle activity of the multifidus (MF), erector spinae (ES), oblique abdominis (AOE), and rectus abdominis (RA) muscles was measured by surface electromyography. and V-crunches) during a single experimental session compared during three whole-body oscillatory and no oscillatory states.
Results.
Compared to the same exercise without whole-body vibration, muscle activity increased when whole-body vibration was added to the exercise.
MF; WBV frequency (P = 0.002,) and exercise (P < 0.001) had a significant effect on the root mean square of MF, but exercise* frequency (P = 0.044) also had a significant interaction effect.
ES: Significant differences were detected in WBV frequency (P < 0.001) and exercise (P < 0.001), while the interaction effect of exercise and frequency (P = 0.225) was not significant.
RA: A significant difference was detected in WBV frequency (P = 0.018), while the effect of exercise (P = 0.590) and the exercise*frequency interaction (P = 0.572) were not significant.
AOE: A significant difference was detected in WBV frequency (P < 0.001), while the effect of exercise (P = 0.152) and exercise*frequency interaction (P = 0.380) were not significant.
In conclusion, the results of this study indicate that total body exercise may activate the iliopsoas muscle. This study recommended the following to activate the iliopsoas muscle: thick plates for the multifidus and erector spinae, V-crunches for the rectus abdominis, and single bridges for the oblique abdominis, all at a frequency of 15 Hz.
Dong, Y., Wang, H., Zhu, Y. et al. Effects of whole body vibration exercise on lumbar-abdominal muscle activation for patients with chronic low back pain . BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil 12, 78 (2020). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13102-020-00226-4
Summary
The results of this study provide hints for training content aimed at activating the iliopsoas muscle in people with chronic low back pain. There are often training programs that focus on the iliopsoas muscle, but it is difficult to train the iliopsoas muscle, which is basically classified as an inner muscle, by itself, so it is thought that activating the large muscles mentioned above can activate the iliopsoas muscle.
However, although there is nothing wrong with the content of this training itself, the study was conducted on young people, the results were limited to people with chronic back pain, and as for the frequency, it was written as 15Hz, but it is not clear if this number is suitable for different conditions.
I don't have any vibrating equipment at home, but if I were to try to reproduce the results, I might be able to get a little closer by doing it in a place where stability is somewhat poor. If you want to reproduce this result, try to use a vibration machine with a set frequency.
