Abstract
Falls from heights resulting from a loss of balance are a major concern in the occupational setting. Previous studies have documented a deleterious effect of lower extremity fatigue on balance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of lumbar extensor fatigue on balance during quiet standing. Additionally, the effects of fatigue rate on balance and balance recovery rate were assessed. Eight center-of-pressure-based measures of postural sway were collected from 13 participants, both before and after a protocol that fatigued the lumbar extensors to 60% of their unfatigued maximum voluntary exertion force. In addition, postural sway was measured for 30 min after the fatiguing protocol, at 5-min intervals, to quantify balance recovery rate during recovery from fatigue. Two different fatigue rates were achieved by fatiguing participants over either 10 min or 90 min. Results show an increase up to 58% in time-domain postural sway measures with lumbar extensor fatigue, but no change in frequency-domain measures. Fatigue rate did not affect the magnitude of these postural sway increases, nor did it affect the rate of balance recovery following fatigue. Statistical power for the latter result, however, was low. These results show that lumbar extensor fatigue increases postural sway and may contribute to fall-from-height accidents.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allum JH, Honegger F, Acuna H (1995) Differential control of leg and trunk muscle activity by vestibulo-spinal and proprioceptive signals during human balance corrections. Acta Otolaryngol (Stockh) 115:124–129
Björklund M, Crenshaw AG, Djupsjobacka M, Johansson H (2000) Position sense acuity is diminished following repetitive low-intensity work to fatigue in a simulated occupational setting. Eur J Appl Physiol 81:361–367
Bloem BR, Allum JH, Carpenter MG, Verschuuren JJ, Honegger F (2002) Triggering of balance corrections and compensatory strategies in a patient with total leg proprioceptive loss. Exp Brain Res 142:91–107
BLS (1998) Workplace injuries and Illnesses in 1996, case and demographic characteristics for workplace injuries and illnesses involving days away from work. US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington, DC, Supplemental Table 8
Bouisset S, Duchene JL (1994) Is body balance more perturbed by respiration in seating than in standing posture? Neuroreport 5:957–960
Caron O (2003) Effects of local fatigue of the lower limbs on postural control and postural stability in standing posture. Neurosci Lett 340:83–86
Carpenter MG, Frank JS, Winter DA, Peysar GW (2001) Sampling duration effects on centre of pressure summary measures. Gait Posture 13:35–40
Christensen LV (1976) Mandibular kinesthesia in fatigue of human jaw muscles. Scand J Dent Res 84:320–326
Corbeil P, Blouin JS, Begin F, Nougier V, Teasdale N (2003) Perturbation of the postural control system induced by muscular fatigue. Gait Posture 18:92–100
Derave W, De Clercq D, Bouckaert J, Pannier JL (1998) The influence of exercise and dehydration on postural stability. Ergonomics 41:782–789
Floyd WF, Silver PH (1955) The function of the erectores spinae muscles in certain movements and postures in man. J Physiol (Lond) 129:184–203
Gage WH, Winter DA, Frank JS, Adkin AL (2004) Kinematic and kinetic validity of the inverted pendulum model in quiet standing. Gait Posture 19:124–132
Gauchard GC, Gangloff P, Vouriot A, Mallie JP, Perrin PP (2002) Effects of exercise-induced fatigue with and without hydration on static postural control in adult human subjects. Int J Neurosci 112:1191–1206
Gillen M, Faucett JA, Beaumont JJ, McLoughlin E (1997) Injury severity associated with nonfatal construction falls. Am J Ind Med 32:647–655
Hsiao H, Simeonov P (2001) Preventing falls from roofs: a critical review. Ergonomics 44:537–561
Hunter IW, Kearney RE (1981) Respiratory components of human postural sway. Neurosci Lett 25:155–159
Jeong BY (1991) Respiration effect on standing balance. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 72:642–645
Johnston RB, 3rd, Howard ME, Cawley PW, Losse GM (1998) Effect of lower extremity muscular fatigue on motor control performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc 30:1703–1707
Karlsson A, Frykberg G (2000) Correlations between force plate measures for assessment of balance. Clin Biomech (Bristol, Avon) 15:365–369
Kawabata Y, Senda M, Oka T, Yagata Y, Takahara Y, Nagashima H, Inoue H (2000) Measurement of fatigue in knee flexor and extensor muscles. Acta Med Okayama 54:85–90
Kuo AD, Speers RA, Peterka RJ, Horak FB (1998) Effect of altered sensory conditions on multivariate descriptors of human postural sway. Exp Brain Res 122:185–195
Lattanzio PJ, Petrella RJ, Sproule JR, Fowler PJ (1997) Effects of fatigue on knee proprioception. Clin J Sport Med 7:22–27
Le Clair K, Riach C (1996) Postural stability measures: what to measure and for how long. Clin Biomech (Bristol, Avon) 11:176–178
Lepers R, Bigard AX, Diard JP, Gouteyron JF, Guezennec CY (1997) Posture control after prolonged exercise. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol 76:55–61
Leva P de (1996) Adjustments to Zatsiorsky-Seluyanov’s segment inertia parameters. J Biomech 29:1223–1230
Lichtenstein MJ, Shields SL, Shiavi RG, Burger MC (1988) Clinical determinants of biomechanics platform measures of balance in aged women. J Am Geriatr Soc 36:996–1002
Lichtenstein MJ, Shields SL, Shiavi RG, Burger C (1989) Exercise and balance in aged women: a pilot controlled clinical trial. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 70:138–143
Mirka A, Black FO (1990) Clinical application of dynamic posturography for evaluating sensory integration and vestibular dysfunction. Neurol Clin 8:351–359
Nardone A, Tarantola J, Giordano A, Schieppati M (1997) Fatigue effects on body balance. Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol 105:309–320
Nardone A, Tarantola J, Galante M, Schieppati M (1998) Time course of stabilometric changes after a strenuous treadmill exercise. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 79:920–924
Ng JK, Parnianpour M, Richardson CA, Kippers V (2003) Effect of fatigue on torque output and electromyographic measures of trunk muscles during isometric axial rotation. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 84:374–381
NIOSH (2000) Worker deaths by falls: a summary of surveillance findings and investigative case reports. National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, Ohio
Nussbaum MA (2003) Postural stability is compromised by fatiguing overhead work. AIHA J (Fairfax, Va) 64:56–61
Oliveira LF, Simpson DM, Nadal J (1996) Calculation of area of stabilometric signals using principal component analysis. Physiol Meas 17:305–312
Prieto TE, Myklebust JB, Hoffmann RG, Lovett EG, Myklebust BM (1996) Measures of postural steadiness: differences between healthy young and elderly adults. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng 43:956–966
Ruser JW (1995) A relative risk analysis of workplace fatalities, fatal workplace injuries in 1993: a collection of data and analysis. US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Report 891, Washington, DC
Sakellari V, Bronstein AM (1997) Hyperventilation effect on postural sway. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 78:730–736
Schieppati M, Nardone A, Schmid M (2003) Neck muscle fatigue affects postural control in man. Neuroscience 121:277–285
Skinner HB, Wyatt MP, Hodgdon JA, Conard DW, Barrack RL (1986) Effect of fatigue on joint position sense of the knee. J Orthop Res 4:112–118
Sparto PJ, Parnianpour M, Reinsel TE, Simon S (1997) The effect of fatigue on multijoint kinematics, coordination, and postural stability during a repetitive lifting test. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 25:3-12
Taimela S, Kankaanpaa M, Luoto S (1999) The effect of lumbar fatigue on the ability to sense a change in lumbar position. A controlled study. Spine 24:1322–1327
Vuillerme N, Nougier V (2003) Effect of light finger touch on postural sway after lower-limb muscular fatigue. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 84:1560–1563
Vuillerme N, Danion F, Forestier N, Nougier V (2002) Postural sway under muscle vibration and muscle fatigue in humans. Neurosci Lett 333:131–135
Winter DA (1993) A.B.C of balance during standing and walking. University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ont.
Winter DA, Patla AE, Prince F, Ishac M, Gielo-Perczak K (1998) Stiffness control of balance in quiet standing. J Neurophysiol 80:1211–1221
Yaggie JA, McGregor SJ (2002) Effects of isokinetic ankle fatigue on the maintenance of balance and postural limits. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 83:224–228
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support for this research provided by the Jeffress Memorial Trust, Richmond, Va., and also thank Matthew Runion for his work in the laboratory. The above-mentioned experimentation wholly complied with all current laws regarding the research and testing of human participants in both the United States of America and the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Davidson, B.S., Madigan, M.L. & Nussbaum, M.A. Effects of lumbar extensor fatigue and fatigue rate on postural sway. Eur J Appl Physiol 93, 183–189 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-004-1195-1
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-004-1195-1