DISTRIBUTION OF TISSUE LOADS IN THE LOW-BACK DURING A VARIETY OF DAILY AND REHABILITATION TASKS

Successful rehabilitation programs arise from the balance of wisdom ob tained through scientific laboratory experiment, and the ''art'' devel oped from clinical experience, Specifically, choosing the best exercis es is enhanced by knowledge of the resultant tissue loads to reduce th e risk of injury exacerbation and to strengthen healthy supporting tis sues. The following report attempts to briefly describe a technique to obtain tissue load distribution, together with examples of tissue loa ds during the performance of some selected tasks. For example, it appe ars that those persons with shear injury to the vertebral joint (inclu ding facet, neural arch damage, or spondylolisthesis) or posterior lig ament damage should avoid fully flexed postures given the resultant ti ssue loading, Specific data are provided to guide selection of various abdominal and low back exercises. Finally, some hypotheses and opinio ns are offered for possible improvements in clinical success.