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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 12, 2026

Experimental Methods to Study Human Postural Control

Experimental Methods to Study Human Postural Control

Published on: September 11, 2019

Identifying intrinsic and reflexive contributions to low-back stabilization.

P van Drunen¹, E Maaswinkel, F C T van der Helm

¹BioMechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Mekelweg 4, 2628 CD Delft, The Netherlands. P.vanDrunen@TUDelft.nl

Journal of Biomechanics

|April 13, 2013

Summary

This study quantifies intrinsic and reflexive motor control for low-back stabilization. Findings reveal distinct contributions during resisting tasks, crucial for understanding chronic low-back pain.

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Area of Science:

Biomechanics
Neuroscience
Musculoskeletal Health

Background:

Motor control deficits are implicated in chronic low-back pain (CLBP).
Understanding the interplay of intrinsic and reflexive mechanisms is key to CLBP.
Low-back stabilization relies on complex neuromuscular control.

Purpose of the Study:

To identify motor control strategies in low-back stabilization.
To quantify intrinsic and reflexive contributions simultaneously.
To investigate how these contributions change during voluntary muscle activation.

Main Methods:

Subjects performed resist and relax tasks under trunk perturbations.
Frequency Response Functions (FRFs) analyzed trunk kinematics (admittance) and muscle activity (sEMG).
A physiologically-based neuromuscular model incorporated proprioceptive feedback.

Main Results:

Resist tasks significantly decreased trunk admittance (61%) and increased reflex gain (73%) below 1.1Hz compared to relax tasks.
The neuromuscular model explained 90% of kinematic variance and 39% of sEMG variance.
Model parameters demonstrated consistency across subjects.

Conclusions:

Distinct motor control strategies are employed during low-back stabilization tasks.
Reflexive responses play a significant role in resisting perturbations.
This research provides a quantitative framework for understanding neuromuscular control in CLBP.