Lumbar spine kinematics during walking in people with and people without low back pain

•All subjects displayed more upper than lower lumbar motion in the transverse and frontal planes.•People with LBP displayed less upper lumbar region rotation compared with healthy controls.•There were no group or regional differences in kinematics in the sagittal plane.•There were predictable, but not significant differences in kinematics among LBP subgroups.•Only a small percentage of people with LBP (11%) reported increased symptoms with walking.

Low back pain (LBP) is a problem that can contribute to functional limitations and disability. Understanding kinematics during walking can provide a basis for examination and treatment in people with LBP. Prior research related to kinematics during walking is conflicting. However, investigators have not considered regional differences in lumbar spine kinematics or movement-based LBP subgroups. In the current study, three-dimensional kinematics of the upper and lower lumbar regions were examined in people with and without LBP. A clinical examination then was conducted to assign people with LBP to a movement-based subgroup and differences in kinematics among subgroups were examined. All subjects displayed significantly more upper than lower lumbar movement in the axial and coronal planes (P < .01). People with LBP displayed significantly less overall lumbar rotation than controls (P < .05). There were no significant group differences in sagittal plane kinematics (P > .05). Walking was limited by or provocative of pain in <25% of subjects with LBP. There were predictable differences in kinematics among some movement-based LBP subgroups that approached statistical significance (P = .09–.11). Walking was provocative of LBP in few subjects, and differences between people with and without LBP and among LBP subgroups were minimal. Limitations include that attempts to standardize gait speed may have minimized observed effects, and there was limited power to detect movement-based LBP subgroup differences.