A Motion Profile of the Lumbar Spine in an Ageing Population Assessed by Manual Examination

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Abstract
Manipulative physiotherapists routinely examine abnormal lumbar intersegmental motion in back pain sufferers. However, they do so without sufficient information of the changes occurring normally with age. Although age changes in mechanical properties of tissues and in range of lumbar movement have been documented, no data have been available on which a level of abnormality might be judged directly applicable to manual perception of movement. This study is aimed at providing such data. Two hundred adult subjects (100 males and 100 females) who had never suffered back pain were studied. Their ages spanned 15–65 years. The lumbar segments L5- S, to T12- L1 were examined by manual methods for all physiological directions and postero-anterior accessory glides. Motion was rated on a five point motion rating scale. The results indicated that there is an increasing incidence of hypomobility with age (p < 0.001) but that the decline in motion is not marked. Gender is not a major determining factor in mobility. This study has provided a succinct set of data relating to normal lumbar intersegmental motion in various age groups, which should form a basis for future comparisons with low back pain sufferers.