Ng Tracy P, Bussone William R, Duma Stefan M, Kress Tyler A
Virginia Tech - Wake Forest Center for Injury Biomechanics, Blacksburg, VA, USA.
Biomed Sci Instrum. 2006;42:410-5.
The purpose of this study was to quantify thoracic and lumbar spine accelerations for men and women of different body sizes during daily activities. Measured spine accelerations were compared to determine if there were significant differences in peak accelerations based on gender, size, and spine location. Each subject performed seven activities, which included sitting in a chair, sitting quickly in a chair, walking at 1.3 m/s, running at 2.7 m/s, performing jumping jacks, achieving maximum vertical leap, and jumping off a step approximately 20 cm high. Overall, the peak lumbar spine accelerations were significantly greater than the thoracic spine accelerations. Based on the statistical analysis, it was determined that gender and body size did not have a significant effect on peak accelerations of the thoracic and lumbar spine. The findings from the present study are of great value to researchers in order to understand the acceleration patterns of the human body during low impact accelerations.
