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Design and Control of EMG Supported Pneumatic Actuated Balance Board

Defecits in motor control are common in individuals with chronic low back pain. However, traditional methods of measuring deficient motor control rely on intrinsically generated movements which may limit the generalizability of the findings. This project aims at addressing this limitation by adapting a novel pneumatic balance board to accommodate a seated individual to specifically test for responses of the lumbopelvic musculature to externally generated forces. This novel method of measuring motor control will give us key insights on how individuals with chronic low back pain adapt to their environment and overcome external perturbations. The first major aim of our study is to adapt our previously eveloped balance board from one which accepts only standing individuals to one which will accommodate individuals in seating (thus eliminating the proprioceptive and balance influences of the hips, knees, and ankles). Next, we plan on validating our board against a gold-standard laser measurement system. Finally, for our third aim we will perform a small case series on asymptomatic individuals in order to assess the differences in motor control between a static balance system and our dynamic balance board. The results from this study will provide pilot data to apply for larger, extramural grants to assess the changes in motor control in individuals with chronic low back pain during the performance of dynamic sitting tasks.