Immediate effect of lumbar stabilization exercise on lumbar position sense in healthy individuals

Abstract

Lumbar stabilization exercise (LSE) is commonly prescribed by physical therapists for individuals with clinical lumbar instability. Enhanced lumbar position sense was believed to be partly responsible for clinical/biomechanical improvements. However, lumbar position sense has not been fully investigated. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the immediate effect of LSE on lumbar position sense. Sixty participants were randomly assigned into either control (n = 30) or exercise (n = 30) group. Two iPhones with a Goniometer G-pro application were attached to the first segment of lumbar spine and the second segment of sacrum using Velcro straps. Each participant attempted to reposition their lumbar spine to starting/neutral position from three random orders of lumbar flexion angles (30°, 45°, and 60°).  Absolute repositioning errors representing lumbar position sense were recorded at pre- and post-test. A mixed ANOVA was performed to determine the effect of LSE on lumbar position sense. Result demonstrated significant main effect of time (F_1,58= 10.44, p = 0.002, η² = 0.15). Post-hoc pairwise comparisons with LSD correction revealed significant difference between pre- and post-test in exercise group (t₂₉ = 2.36; p = 0.003; Cohen’s d_z = 0.43). This result suggests that LSE can enhance lumbar position sense. However, further study should establish the association between change in lumbar position sense and clinical/biomechanical outcomesto explain the underlying mechanism of LSE on improving lumbar stability.