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Ellen L Rogers

Publications and source records attributed to Ellen L Rogers.

2 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Disturbed paraspinal reflex following prolonged flexion-relaxation and recovery.

STUDY DESIGN: Repeated measures experimental study of the effect of flexion-relaxation, recovery, and gender on paraspinal reflex dynamics. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of prolonged flexion-relaxation and recovery time on reflex behavior in human subjects. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Prolonged spinal flexion has been shown to disturb the paraspinal reflex activity in both animals and human beings. Laxity in passive tissues of the spine from flexion strain may contribute to desensitization of mechanoreceptors. Animal studies indicate that recovery of reflexes may take up to several hours. Little is known about human paraspinal reflex behavior following flexion tasks or the recovery of reflex behavior following the flexion tasks. METHODS: A total of 25 subjects performed static flexion-relaxation tasks. Paraspinal muscle reflexes were recorded before and immediately after flexion-relaxation and after a recovery period. Reflexes were quantified from systems identification analyses of electromyographic response in relation to pseudorandom force disturbances applied to the trunk. RESULTS: Trunk angle measured during flexion-relaxation postures was significantly higher following static flexion-relaxation tasks (P < 0.001), indicating creep deformation of passive supporting structures in the trunk. Reflex response was diminished following flexion-relaxation (P < 0.029) and failed to recover to baseline levels during 16 minutes of recovery. CONCLUSION: Reduced reflex may indicate that the spine is less stable following prolonged flexion-relaxation and, therefore, susceptible to injury. The absence of recovery in reflex after a substantial time indicates that increased low back pain risk from flexion-relaxation may persist after the end of the flexion task.

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PubMed2005

Active trunk stiffness increases with co-contraction.

Trunk dynamics, including stiffness, mass and damping were quantified during trunk extension exertions with and without voluntary recruitment of antagonistic co-contraction. The objective of this study was to empirically evaluate the influence of co-activation on trunk stiffness. Muscle activity associated with voluntary co-contraction has been shown to increase joint stiffness in the ankle and elbow. Although biomechanical models assume co-active recruitment causes increase trunk stiffness it has never been empirically demonstrated. Small trunk displacements invoked by pseudorandom force disturbances during trunk extension exertions were recorded from 17 subjects at two co-contraction conditions (minimal and maximal voluntary co-contraction recruitment). EMG data were recorded from eight trunk muscles as a baseline measure of co-activation. Increased EMG activity confirms that muscle recruitment patterns were different between the two co-contraction conditions. Trunk stiffness was determined from analyses of impulse response functions (IRFs) of trunk dynamics wherein the kinematics were represented as a second-order behavior. Trunk stiffness increased 37.8% (p < 0.004) from minimal to maximal co-activation. Results support the assumption used in published models of spine biomechanics that recruitment of trunk muscle co-contraction increases trunk stiffness thereby supporting conclusions from those models that co-contraction may contribute to spinal stability.

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