The Archives of Bone and Joint Surgery

The Archives of Bone and Joint Surgery

The Efficacy of “Anatomical Posture Control Orthosis” on the Activity of Erector spinae Muscle, Risk of Falling, Balance Confidence, and Walking Speed in Osteoporotic Hyperkyphotic Subjects

Document Type : RESEARCH PAPER

Authors
Masoumeh Veiskarami 1
Gholamreza Aminain 2
Mahmoud Bahramizadeh 2
Mehrdad Gholami 2
Farzad Ebrahimzadeh 2
Mokhtar Arazpour 2
1 Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, School of Alleid Medichal Sciences, Lorestan, Iran
2 Department of Orthotics and Prosthetics, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran
10.22038/abjs.2021.53771.2678
Abstract
Background: Osteoporosis is a silent and asymptomatic disease that leads to thoracic hyperkyphosis, which can 
interfere with the normal function of the paraspinal musculature and balance control. There is no evidence regarding the 
effect of the anatomical posture control (APC) orthosis in older people with osteoporotic thoracic hyperkyphosis. This 
study aimed to examine the effects of this novel orthosis on the electromyography (EMG) of the erector spinae (ES) 
and balance control in this group of patients.
Methods: In total, 22 elderly osteoporotic subjects with thoracic hyperkyphosis were enrolled in this study. The 
participants used the orthosis for 4 weeks. The clinical balance assessment scales assessing fall risk and surface EMG 
(sEMG) signals were recorded from the erector spinae muscles bilaterally before and after the use of orthosis. The 
marginal model was used with the generalized estimating equation analysis for investigating the effect of this orthosis 
on the sEMG of the paraspinal muscles and the balance control in this longitudinal study. 
Results: The normalized root mean square of sEMG of the lumbar and thoracic ES muscles reduced significantly 
(P<0.05), and significant improvement was observed (P<0.05) in the balance control test when the participants used 
this new-designed orthosis (P<0.05).
Conclusion: APC orthosis can decrease the activity of ES muscles during static standing and improve the static and 
dynamic balance in the hyperkyphotic osteoporotic subjects.
Level of evidence: II
Keywords
Balance control
EMG
Hyperkyphosis
Orthosis
Osteoporosis
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The Archives of Bone and Joint Surgery
Volume 10, Issue 9
September 2022
Pages 798-805

  • Receive Date 30 November 2020
  • Revise Date 08 August 2021
  • Accept Date 25 September 2021