Assessing trunk motor variability in a changing spinal environment: an experimental study.

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Motor variability is an important feature of human movement which can be measured using multiple parameters such as performance measures. The main objective of this proposal is to identify and characterize trunk neuromuscular and kinematic adaptations to a “changing spinal environment”. The proposed research program will include a series of experiments designed to each address a specific hypothesis related to trunk and spinal motor variability under varying mechanical and neurophysiological conditions that reflect daily activities. These studies will provide critical information regarding the development of acute and long term motor adaptation in the complex musculoskeletal spinal system. The results and knowledge derived from these studies could, in the long run, provide new insights on how intrinsic spinal variability can be exploited as a source of biomechanical variations without compromising work-related or other type of performances. The research program could lead to the development of innovative applications in sport performance and work productivity, standardised functional spinal evaluation and biomedical engineering diagnostic tools, as well as progress in risk assessment strategies in ergonomics. All the proposed experiments are based on the assessment of similar motor variability variables under varying experimental conditions. Independent groups of healthy adult volunteers will be recruited to participate in each of these experiments where they will be asked to perform a series of standardized task involving spinal movement and stabilization. The current proposal seeks to investigate if spinal adaptations in movement patterns and muscle recruitment are task-specific, or if individuals use a similar and “rather typical” adaptation pattern across a range of tasks. We will try to answer the following research questions: [1] Investigate how changes in spinal stabilisation mechanisms affect muscle recruitment strategies and trunk kinematics during voluntary trunk movement [2] Determine how these changes also affect the muscle recruitment strategies and trunk kinematics during fast-adaptation reactive trunk movements [3] Investigate how nociceptive segmental inputs affect muscle recruitment strategies and trunk kinematics, and [4] Investigate how sustained cyclic exercises modify muscle recruitment strategies and trunk kinematics. Neuromuscular motor variability will be quantified using the spatial representation of muscular activity in EMG matrices as well as movement patterns during the various experimental protocols. My goal, with the present proposal, is to create an educational environment for graduate students that will foster interdisciplinary collaboration in order to ensure both diversified and high quality training of young researchers in the fields of motor control, biomechanics and signal processing.