Drexel University
College of Nursing & Health Professions
1505 Race Street Ms 501 Philadelphia, PA 19102
Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences Department
Validation of Clinical Observation of Aberrant Movement Patterns in
Patients with Mechanical Low Back Pain
Investigators
Scott A. Biely, PT, DPT, OCS, MTC, PhD (Co-PI) – Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Therapy,
Neumann College
Sheri P. Silfies, PT, PhD (Co-PI) – Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Sciences, Drexel University
Susan Smith, PT, PhD (Co-PI) – Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Sciences, Drexel University
Pemongkon Wattananon, PT, MS- PhD Candidate, Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation
Sciences, Drexel University
Summary / Overview Observation of abnormal back movement patterns is considered an important characteristic in
identifying patients who will respond positively to low back stabilization exercises or who have low
back pain attributed to clinical spinal instability. However, the validity of clinical observations of these
poor movement patterns has not been determined. The purpose of this line of research is to: 1)
determine the validity of clinical observations by examining physical therapist’s ability to identify
subjects with current or previous MLBP,2) determine the agreement between clinical observations of
trunk movement and kinematic analysis in recognizing abnormal trunk movement patterns, 3)
characterize (describe and quantify) spine and pelvis movements of typical and aberrant patterns
during trunk forward bend using kinematic and force plate data, and 4) determine the ability of core
stabilization exercise to resolve trunk movement coordination impairments during active forward
bending.The results of these studies will determine the diagnostic accuracy of clinical observation of
aberrant movement patterns and provide additional criteria that can be used to improve the ability of
1 healthy care providers to identifying and resolve impaired movement patterns.
Drexel University
College of Nursing & Health Professions
1505 Race Street Ms 501 Philadelphia, PA 19102
Funding
Orthopaedic Section; American Physical Therapy Association (5/2008-10/2009)
Participating Sites
Drexel University Physical Therapy Services
Physiotherapy Associates, West Chester, PA Articles Biely, SA, Smith, S, Silfies, SP. Clinical Instability of the Lumbar Spine: Diagnosis and Intervention,
Orthopedic Practice, 2006; 18(3), 11-18.
Presentations Biely, SA, Smith, S, Silfies, SP. Reliability of Kinematic Measures of Trunk Motion: A Pilot Study.
Northeast Conference, American Society of Biomechanics, University of Maryland, MD, March 30-31,
2007. http://www.hhp.umd.edu/KNES/faculty/jkshim/NEASB/abstracts/36%20-40.pdf
Biely, SA, Ream, A, Smith, S, Silfies, SP. Improvement in Trunk Movement Pattern in a Patient with
Low Back Pain, J Ortho Sports Phys Ther, 2009; 39(1): A 31
Bhattacharya A, Biely, S; Silfies, SP. Qualitative Analysis of Lumbopelvic Movement Patterns in
Individuals with Mechanical Low Back Pain: A Kinematic Study, J Ortho Sports Phys Ther,
2009; 39(1): A 84-85
Biely, SA, Silfies, SP, Smith, S, Hicks, G. Clinical Observation of Standing Trunk Movements:
What Do the Aberrant Movement Patterns Tell Us?, J Ortho Sports Phys Ther,
2012:42(1):A37-38.
Biely, SA, Smith, S, Haddad, MA, Silfies, SP. Reliability and Validity of Clinical Observation of
Lumbo-Pelvic
Rhythm,
J
Ortho
Sports
Phys
Ther,
2010:40(1):A
72.
Biely, SA, Wattananon P, Silfies SP, Smith SS, Ebaugh DD. Trunk Aberrant Movement
Patterns: Linking Instrumented Kinematics To Clinical Observation. J Ortho Sports Phys Ther,
2013:43(1):A74-75
Wattananon, P, Sung, W, Spinelli B, Biely, S, Silfies, SP. Quantification of reversal of
lumbopelvic rhythm during active forward bending. Proceedings of the 37th Conference of the
American
Society
of
Biomechanics,
Omaha,
NE.2013
Wattananon, P, Sung, W, Biely, S, Cannella, M, Silfies, SP. Preliminary Study of Changes in
Trunk Forward Bend Aberrant Patterns Post Core Stabilization Intervention. Proceedings of the
36th Conference of the American Society of Biomechanics, Gainsville, FL, 2012:1004-5.
Contact us
P, Sung,
W, Biely,
Cannella,
SP studies
(2011). being
Inter-rater
Reliability
of
If Wattananon,
you are interested
in learning
moreS,about
currentM,
lowSilfies,
back pain
conducted
through
Rating
Kinematic
Plots
of
Foward
Bend
Movement
Patterns.
Proceedings
of
the
35th
the Rehabilitation Sciences Spine Research Lab at Drexel University, please contact Dr. Sheri Silfies
oforthe
American Society of Biomechanics, Long Beach, CA, p. 812-813
atConference
215.762.3589
silfies@drexel.edu.
2 Drexel University
College of Nursing & Health Professions
1505 Race Street Ms 501 Philadelphia, PA 19102
3