Doctoral Dissertation Research: Evolutionary mismatch and variation in physical activity and function

博士论文研究：身体活动和功能的进化失配和变异

• 批准号: 2235529
• 负责人: Daniel Lieberman
• 金额: $ 3.35万
• 依托单位: Harvard University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-03-15 至 2024-02-29
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2235529&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Evolutionary; mismatch

Humans evolved to be moderately physically active, walking longer distances daily than many are currently used to, often while carrying things, and engaging in many other subsistence-related tasks that involve bodily movement. Regular physical activity (PA) is such an important part of the human environment that its prolonged absence increases the risk for numerous diseases and conditions including lower back pain (LBP), the most common musculoskeletal condition in the world. Although many factors contribute, the strongest predictor of LBP is the endurance of trunk muscles. The endurance of trunk muscles and spine loading depend largely on how much and what types of PA a person routinely engages in. To better understand how PA affects the trunk and spine function, this Doctoral Dissertation Research project studies people engaging in high levels of PA such as walking long distances each day and consistently engaging in manual labor, often while carrying water, food, and infants, compared to people with more sedentary daily activity levels. The project provides research training and collaboration opportunities for local community members and researchers. The primary hypothesis tested by this project is that reduced PA generates low levels of trunk muscle activity and spinal loading which are associated with low trunk muscle endurance. To test this hypothesis, novel wearable sensors that measure bodily movement and back muscle activity are combined with computer-based musculoskeletal modeling to compare spinal loading and back muscle activation levels between rural (high-activity) and urban (low-activity) populations to assess whether differences in spinal loading and back muscle activation levels are associated with trunk muscle endurance. The project also uses wearable sensors to test how trunk muscle endurance affects two spine functions hypothesized to be associated with LBP: modulation of spine stiffness during walking and the distribution of compression and shear forces generated in the spine during walking. By making use of a research design where two populations with different PA profiles live in geographic proximity, this project addresses why and how engaging in PAs at different levels may help our bodies, and specifically our backs and spines, function better and stay LBP-free. Ultimately the results of this research can contribute to our understanding of how our modern activity levels may be a mismatch for the levels of activity experienced throughout human evolution.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

人类进化到适度的身体活动，每天步行的距离比许多人现在习惯的要长，经常携带东西，并从事许多其他与身体运动有关的生存任务。有规律的身体活动（PA）是人类环境的重要组成部分，长期缺乏它会增加许多疾病和病症的风险，包括世界上最常见的肌肉骨骼疾病下背痛（LBP）。虽然有许多因素，但LBP最强的预测因素是躯干肌肉的耐力。躯干肌肉和脊柱负荷的耐力在很大程度上取决于一个人经常从事的PA的数量和类型。为了更好地了解PA如何影响躯干和脊柱功能，这个博士论文研究项目研究了参与高水平PA的人，例如每天长距离步行和持续从事体力劳动，经常携带水，食物和婴儿，与久坐不动的日常活动水平相比。该项目为当地社区成员和研究人员提供研究培训和合作机会。 本项目测试的主要假设是，PA减少会导致躯干肌肉活动和脊柱负荷水平降低，这与躯干肌肉耐力降低有关。为了验证这一假设，将测量身体运动和背部肌肉活动的新型可穿戴传感器与基于计算机的肌肉骨骼建模相结合，以比较农村（高活动）和城市（低活动）人群之间的脊柱负荷和背部肌肉激活水平，以评估脊柱负荷和背部肌肉激活水平的差异是否与躯干肌肉耐力相关。该项目还使用可穿戴传感器来测试躯干肌肉耐力如何影响两种与LBP相关的脊柱功能：行走过程中脊柱刚度的调节以及行走过程中脊柱中产生的压缩力和剪切力的分布。通过使用一个研究设计，其中两个具有不同PA配置文件的人群生活在地理上接近，该项目解决了为什么以及如何在不同水平上参与PA可以帮助我们的身体，特别是我们的背部和脊柱，更好地发挥作用，并保持LBP免费。最终，这项研究的结果有助于我们理解我们的现代活动水平可能与整个人类进化过程中经历的活动水平不匹配。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。