Measurement of lumbar spine kinematics in incline treadmill walking

A study was undertaken to analyse and compare the pelvic (S1) and the trunk (T12) oscillations during level and uphill walking and to provide kinematic baseline data of the lumbar region in incline walking for future comparisons with pathological gait patterns. An ultrasonic movement analysis device (Zebris® CMS 50) was used to obtain three-dimensional kinematic data for the pelvis and thorax. Data from treadmill walking at 0 and 10% incline of 22 adults were used for within subject analysis. Crosscorrelation values ranged from r=0.76 to 0.98 (P<0.001) demonstrating a strong degree of agreement between the temporal patterns of angular displacement of the trunk and pelvis in the sagittal, transverse and frontal plane in incline compared to level ambulation. However, Student’s t-tests revealed significantly (P<0.01) higher amplitudes for thorax displacements in the frontal and transverse plane in uphill walking. No significant differences were detected for amplitude parameters of the pelvis. It could be stated that the phasic patterns in level walking are not different from that obtained for incline walking. It is concluded that incline ambulation exerts the major influences in the thoracic region by increasing amplitudes of axial rotations.