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

运动可变性是人体运动的一个重要特征，它可以通过多种参数来测量，如性能指标。本提案的主要目的是识别和表征躯干神经肌肉和运动学适应“不断变化的脊柱环境”。拟议的研究计划将包括一系列的实验，每个实验都旨在解决与反映日常活动的不同机械和神经生理条件下躯干和脊柱运动变异性相关的特定假设。这些研究将为复杂的肌肉骨骼脊柱系统的急性和长期运动适应的发展提供关键信息。从长远来看，从这些研究中获得的结果和知识可以为如何利用内在脊柱变异性作为生物力学变化的来源而不影响工作或其他类型的表现提供新的见解。该研究项目可能会导致在运动表现和工作效率、标准化脊柱功能评估和生物医学工程诊断工具方面的创新应用的发展，以及在人体工程学风险评估策略方面的进展。所有提出的实验都是基于在不同实验条件下对相似的运动可变性变量的评估。独立的健康成人志愿者小组将被招募来参与这些实验，他们将被要求执行一系列涉及脊柱运动和稳定的标准化任务。目前的建议旨在调查脊柱在运动模式和肌肉招募方面的适应是针对特定任务的，还是个体在一系列任务中使用类似的“相当典型”的适应模式。我们将尝试回答以下研究问题：研究脊柱稳定机制的变化如何影响随意躯干运动期间的肌肉募集策略和躯干运动学，确定这些变化如何影响快速适应反应性躯干运动期间的肌肉募集策略和躯干运动学，研究伤害性节段性输入如何影响肌肉募集策略和躯干运动学。研究持续循环运动如何改变肌肉补充策略和躯干运动学。神经肌肉运动变异性将通过肌电图矩阵中肌肉活动的空间表征以及各种实验方案中的运动模式来量化。我的目标，与目前的建议，是为研究生创造一个教育环境，将促进跨学科合作，以确保运动控制，生物力学和信号处理领域的年轻研究人员的多样化和高质量的培训。

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.