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JOURNAL
OF
SPORTS SCIENCE &
MEDICINE
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Research
article
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SPINAL POSTURE OF THORACIC AND LUMBAR SPINE AND PELVIC TILT IN HIGHLY TRAINED CYCLISTS |
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José M. Muyor1  ,
Pedro A. López-Miñarro2 and Fernando Alacid3 |
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1Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Education, University of Almería, Spain 2Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Education, University of Murcia, Spain 3Department of Physical Activity and Sports, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Murcia, Spain |
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© Journal of Sports Science and Medicine (2011) 10, 355 - 361 |
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| ABSTRACT | |||
| The aim of this study was to evaluate sagittal thoracic and lumbar
spinal curvatures and pelvic tilt in elite and master cyclists when standing
on the floor, and sitting on a bicycle at three different handlebar-hand
positions. A total of 60 elite male cyclists (mean age: 22.95 ± 3.38 years)
and 60 master male cyclists (mean age: 34.27 ± 3.05 years) were evaluated.
The Spinal Mouse system was used to measure sagittal thoracic and lumbar
curvature in standing on the floor and sitting positions on the bicycle
at three different handlebar-hand positions (high, medium, and low). The
mean values for thoracic and lumbar curvatures and pelvic tilt in the standing
position on the floor were 48.17 ± 8.05º, -27.32 ± 7.23º, and 13.65 ± 5.54º,
respectively, for elite cyclists and 47.02 ± 9.24º, -25.30 ± 6.29º, and
11.25 ± 5.17º for master cyclists. A high frequency of thoracic hyperkyphosis
in the standing position was observed (58.3% in elite cyclists and 53.3%
in master cyclists), whereas predominately neutral values were found in
the lumbar spine (88.3% and 76.7% in elite and master cyclists, respectively).
When sitting on the bicycle, the thoracic curve was at a lower angle in
the three handlebar-hand positions with respect to the standing position
on the floor in both groups (p < 0.01). The lumbar curve adopted a kyphotic
posture. In conclusion, cyclists present a high percentage of thoracic hyperkyphotic
postures in standing positions on the floor. However, thoracic hyperkyphosis
is not directly related to positions adopted on the bicycle. Key words: Cycling, sagittal, curvature, sport. |
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