BackMov: Individualized Motion Capture-Based Test to Assess Low Back Pain Mobility Recovery after Treatment
Fernando Villalba-Meneses,
Cesar Guevara,
Paolo A. Velásquez-López,
Isaac Arias-Serrano,
Stephanie A. Guerrero-Ligña,
Camila M. Valencia-Cevallos,
Diego Almeida-Galárraga,
Carolina Cadena-Morejón,
Javier Marín,
José J. Marín
Affiliations
Fernando Villalba-Meneses
IDERGO (Research and Development in Ergonomics), I3A (Instituto de Investigación en Ingeniería de Aragón), University of Zaragoza, C/Mariano Esquillor s/n, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain
Cesar Guevara
Centro de Investigación en Mecatrónica y Sistemas Interactivos—MIST, Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica, Quito 170103, Ecuador
Paolo A. Velásquez-López
School of Biological Sciences and Engineering, Yachay Tech University, Hacienda San José s/n, San Miguel de Urcuquí 100119, Ecuador
Isaac Arias-Serrano
School of Biological Sciences and Engineering, Yachay Tech University, Hacienda San José s/n, San Miguel de Urcuquí 100119, Ecuador
Stephanie A. Guerrero-Ligña
School of Biological Sciences and Engineering, Yachay Tech University, Hacienda San José s/n, San Miguel de Urcuquí 100119, Ecuador
Camila M. Valencia-Cevallos
School of Biological Sciences and Engineering, Yachay Tech University, Hacienda San José s/n, San Miguel de Urcuquí 100119, Ecuador
Diego Almeida-Galárraga
School of Biological Sciences and Engineering, Yachay Tech University, Hacienda San José s/n, San Miguel de Urcuquí 100119, Ecuador
Carolina Cadena-Morejón
School of Mathematical and Computational Sciences, Yachay Tech University, Hacienda San José s/n, San Miguel de Urcuquí 100119, Ecuador
Javier Marín
IDERGO (Research and Development in Ergonomics), I3A (Instituto de Investigación en Ingeniería de Aragón), University of Zaragoza, C/Mariano Esquillor s/n, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain
José J. Marín
IDERGO (Research and Development in Ergonomics), I3A (Instituto de Investigación en Ingeniería de Aragón), University of Zaragoza, C/Mariano Esquillor s/n, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain
Low back pain (LBP) is a common issue that negatively affects a person’s quality of life and imposes substantial healthcare expenses. In this study, we introduce the (Back-pain Movement) BackMov test, using inertial motion capture (MoCap) to assess lumbar movement changes in LBP patients. The test includes flexion–extension, rotation, and lateralization movements focused on the lumbar spine. To validate its reproducibility, we conducted a test-retest involving 37 healthy volunteers, yielding results to build a minimal detectable change (MDC) graph map that would allow us to see if changes in certain variables of LBP patients are significant in relation to their recovery. Subsequently, we evaluated its applicability by having 30 LBP patients perform the movement’s test before and after treatment (15 received deep oscillation therapy; 15 underwent conventional therapy) and compared the outcomes with a specialist’s evaluations. The test-retest results demonstrated high reproducibility, especially in variables such as range of motion, flexion and extension ranges, as well as velocities of lumbar movements, which stand as the more important variables that are correlated with LBP disability, thus changes in them may be important for patient recovery. Among the 30 patients, the specialist’s evaluations were confirmed using a low-back-specific Short Form (SF)-36 Physical Functioning scale, and agreement was observed, in which all patients improved their well-being after both treatments. The results from the specialist analysis coincided with changes exceeding MDC values in the expected variables. In conclusion, the BackMov test offers sensitive variables for tracking mobility recovery from LBP, enabling objective assessments of improvement. This test has the potential to enhance decision-making and personalized patient monitoring in LBP management.
