Age-related differences in the timing aspect of lumbopelvic rhythm during trunk motion in the sagittal plane

Forward bending and backward return of the human trunk in the sagittal plane are associated with a specific lumbopelvic rhythm, which consists of magnitude and timing aspects. In this study, the age-related differences in the timing aspect of lumbopelvic rhythm were investigated using the continuous relative phase method. Specifically, the mean absolute relative phase (MARP) between the thoracic and pelvic motions as well as variation in MARP under repetitive motions, denoted by deviation phase (DP), were characterized in sixty participants between 20 and 70 years old. MARP and DP were determined for trunk forward bending and backward return tasks with self-selected slow and fast paces. The MARP and DP were both smaller (p = 0.003, p < 0.001 respectively) in the older versus younger age participants with no gender-related difference. In fast versus slow pace task, the MARP was smaller (p < 0.001) only in forward bending, whereas the DP was smaller (p < 0.001) in both the forward bending and backward return. A more in-phase and more stable lumbopelvic rhythm denoted respectively by smaller MARP and DP in older versus younger individuals maybe a neuromuscular strategy to protect the lower back tissues from excessive strain, in order to reduce the risk of injury.