EMG Topography of Low Back Muscles as a Tool for Posture Evaluation and for the Assessment of Lumbalgia Treatments Progress

We measured bipolar surface electromyography signals (sEMG) from 6 muscles of low back in 4 patients with Low Back Pain (LBP) in two recording sessions during sitting and standing. The goal of the measurements was to present an appropriate assessment method for differentiation between correct and habitual (normally, wrong) posture and to assess recovery progress, based on sEMG topography. We calculated topography maps from the sEMG amplitude and introduced three parameters: left/right symmetry, amplitude modulation, and slope of the sEMG topography map. The results indicate that these parameters might be used as assessment tool of recovery progress and for differentiation of corrected and habitual postures in LBP patients.