Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the lumbopelvic UCM according to the O'Sullivan classification in asymptomatic persons with LBP. Although it has been understood that clinical management of lumbopelvic UCM must be associated with LBP9, it is important to note that this condition without symptoms represents a potential risk of injury; therefore, it is part of the preventive management of UCM present in LBP13,14 Methods: Male volunteers aged between 18 and 23 years old (mean=20.4), who reported no episodes of LBP in the 12 months prior to the study, were recruited. From the total of recruited participants (n=51), those volunteers with structural alterations of spine alignment (n = 7) and those classified with an UCM lumbopelvic pattern, as described by O'Sullivan which has not been currently validated (n=2)12, were excluded after the stage of clinical measures. The clinical evaluation was conducted by a researcher who underwent a period of training, guided by an expert in the evaluation of nonspecific chronic low back pain as rated by O'Sullivan. The correlation of the data between the two evaluators was performed using Kappa index. Examiners obtained 73.33% agreement and appropriate kappa value when the clinical evaluation is performed. Possible spinal column deviations were investigated in any of the planes using active mobility tests. According to the O'Sullivan classification for individuals with NSLBP, the UCM lumbopelvic was considered as the anterior-posterior displacement anticipatory of the low lumbar segment (L4-L5, L5-S1), visualized as a hinge effect during the performance of a biped seated transfer. Participants of the UCM group showed “Active Extension Pattern (AEP)” or “Flexion Pattern (FP)”. A GraphPad Prism 6 for the statistical calculations was used. Data were analyzed with descriptive stadistics. Results: From the total of the volunteers (n=44), a 38.64% assessed participants experience lumbar UCM even though they do not experience LBP (n=17); 9 subjects with active extension pattern and 8 of them with flexion pattern. Conclusion: The findings shown in the clinical assessment of this study indicate that individuals without LBP may experience UCM of the lumbopelvic segment, similar to that described by O'Sullivan in subjects with NSLBP (O'Sullivan, 2005). This movement impairment in subjects without LBP, suggests that the development of symptoms is not unique to the loss of control of the lumbopelvic segment.