Normand Martin C, Descarreaux Martin, Poulin Caroline, Richer Nadia, Mailhot Dominique, Black Pierre, Dugas Claude
Département de Chiropratique, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada.
J Can Chiropr Assoc. 2005 Jun;49(2):96-101.
For many patients with chronic low back pain, the lack of sleep and sufficient rest period that allows some relaxation is a major obstacle to a good quality of life. During sleep periods, neuromuscular activity is at a minimal level. The major factor influencing the forces on the body, and particularly the spine, is gravity. The force of gravity is sufficient to deform soft tissues when the body is resting on a mattress. Thus, the goal of this study is to measure the contact pressure forces acting on the spine with and without an inflatable support in various experimental conditions. Our hypothesis is that a lumbar support will distribute the force of gravity more uniformly over the pelvic, lumbar and thoracic areas, maintaining the lumbar lordosis, in a supine posture. In this study, 10 participants were tested when lying supine in six separate experimental conditions. These conditions varied according to the surface (no mattress, foam, mattress) and the fact that the support was inflated or not. The dependent variable measured was the contact pressure. It was measured using a pressure sensor mat (Tekscan). When the cushion was inflated the distribution of contact pressure in the different areas (pelvic, lumbar and thoracic) was modified. The comparison of the mean forces revealed that when the cushion was not inflated, the pressure distribution was mainly localized in the pelvic area. After the cushion was inflated, a significant decrease of contact pressure in the pelvic region and a significant increase in the lumbar area were observed. Our results confirm the hypothesis that a lumbar support inserted in a mattress allows a more homogenous distribution of contact pressure over the pelvic, lumbar and thoracic areas during supine posture. The use of an inflatable cushion favouring a transition of the contact pressure from the pelvic to the lumbar region could potentially limit unfavourable compressive and shearing forces acting on the lumbar spine.
对于许多慢性下背痛患者而言，缺乏睡眠以及没有足够的能让人放松的休息时间是影响高质量生活的主要障碍。在睡眠期间，神经肌肉活动处于最低水平。影响身体尤其是脊柱受力的主要因素是重力。当身体躺在床垫上时，重力足以使软组织变形。因此，本研究的目的是在各种实验条件下，测量有无充气支撑时作用于脊柱的接触压力。我们的假设是，在仰卧姿势下，腰部支撑能将重力更均匀地分布在骨盆、腰椎和胸部区域，维持腰椎前凸。在本研究中，10名参与者在六种不同的实验条件下仰卧时接受测试。这些条件根据表面情况（无床垫、泡沫、床垫）以及支撑是否充气而有所不同。测量的因变量是接触压力。使用压力传感垫（Tekscan）进行测量。当垫子充气时，不同区域（骨盆、腰椎和胸部）的接触压力分布会发生改变。平均力的比较显示，当垫子未充气时，压力分布主要集中在骨盆区域。垫子充气后，观察到骨盆区域的接触压力显著降低，腰椎区域的接触压力显著增加。我们的结果证实了这一假设，即在床垫中插入腰部支撑可使仰卧姿势时骨盆、腰椎和胸部区域的接触压力分布更均匀。使用充气垫有助于将接触压力从骨盆区域转移到腰椎区域，这可能会限制作用于腰椎的不利压缩力和剪切力。
