Sung Paul, Lee Dongchul
Indiana Wesleyan University, Marion, USA.
Neurostim Insight, Santa Clarita, USA.
Eur Spine J. 2025 Jun 26. doi: 10.1007/s00586-025-09083-6.
Compensatory weight transfer is essential for balance control and functional mobility, yet few studies have investigated contralateral touch behavior during one-leg standing, particularly in individuals with chronic low back pain (LBP).
This study evaluated the influence of visual input on postural stability, with specific attention to the initiation and total duration of contralateral foot touches across three repeated trials in adults with LBP.
Twenty-seven participants with LBP and 44 control participants performed 10-second one-leg standing tasks on their non-dominant limb under eyes-open and eyes-closed conditions. Two primary outcomes were assessed across three trials: (1) occurrence of contralateral foot touch within the first second (early stance response), and (2) total duration of foot contact during the entire trial.
Sample size estimation indicated that a minimum of 25 participants per group would yield 80% power to detect a moderate effect size (Cohen's d = 0.4). A significant interaction was observed between visual condition and repetition (F = 7.86, p = 0.01), although no significant group interaction was found for total contralateral touch duration (F = 1.59, p = 0.21). The LBP group exhibited significantly more early contralateral touches during the first trial with visual input (t = 3.46, p = 0.001) and during the third trial without visual input (t = -3.53, p = 0.001), suggesting impaired adaptability to sensory conditions.
Although total contralateral touch duration did not differ significantly between groups, individuals with LBP demonstrated greater instability during the initial phase of one-leg stance. These findings highlight early stance responses as a sensitive marker of balance impairment in LBP and support the need for interventions that enhance somatosensory integration and postural initiation strategies.
代偿性体重转移对于平衡控制和功能移动性至关重要，但很少有研究调查单腿站立时的对侧触摸行为，尤其是在慢性下腰痛（LBP）患者中。
本研究评估视觉输入对姿势稳定性的影响，特别关注LBP成人在三次重复试验中对侧足部触摸的起始和总持续时间。
27名LBP参与者和44名对照参与者在睁眼和闭眼条件下用非优势肢体进行10秒单腿站立任务。在三次试验中评估两个主要结果：（1）第一秒内对侧足部触摸的发生情况（早期站立反应），以及（2）整个试验期间足部接触的总持续时间。
样本量估计表明，每组至少25名参与者将有80%的把握检测到中等效应量（科恩d值=0.4）。观察到视觉条件和重复之间存在显著交互作用（F=7.86，p=0.01），尽管在对侧总触摸持续时间方面未发现显著的组间交互作用（F=1.59，p=0.21）。LBP组在有视觉输入的第一次试验中（t=3.46，p=0.001）和无视觉输入的第三次试验中（t=-3.53，p=0.
