Active cervical and lumbar range of motion during performance of activities of daily living in healthy young adults.

Abstract

Observational cohort design. The purpose of this investigation was to characterize the maximum, cumulative, and average cervical and lumbar spine motion required to perform common activities of daily living (ADLs). Previous studies have measured the maximum cervical and lumbar excursions during ADLs, but none have used a motion capture system to allow for noninvasive continuous motion monitoring. Ten healthy, young adults performed 16 ADLs while 3-dimensional kinematics were recorded. Cervical and lumbar rigid body kinematic models were created and scaled to each subject to calculate angular motion. Cervical and lumbar mean active range of motion (ROM) and total excursion for flexion-extension, lateral bending, and axial rotation were calculated. The majority of activities used 20% to 40% of maximum available cervical ROM and 40% to 60% of maximum available lumbar ROM. Activities that required concurrent cervical and lumbar spine motion, such as washing in the shower, picking an object up from the floor, and clearing the table, had the greatest motion totals. These activities typically required rates of excursion greater than 10° per second. This is the first investigation to report cumulative spine motion totals associated with the performance of common ADLs. These results provide a preliminary cervical and lumbar spine motion profile in healthy, young adults. The relationship between traditional end ROM measurements and function is not well defined. In agreement with previous research, this investigation concludes that only a small percentage of available ROM is used in performing most activities. Thus, determining the total wear related to common activities may help us to better understand and address spine-related impairments. N/A.