2015 Volume 30 Issue 2 Pages 219-224
[Purpose] To examine the differences in muscle hardness among postures maintaining different anterior trunk angles in sitting and standing. [Subjects] The subjects were 19 healthy males. [Methods] In sitting and standing, the hardness of the multifidus of the lumbar spine was measured at 7 trunk anterior inclination angles from 0 to 60˚. The inclination angles of the sacrum and femur, and hip flexion angle were compared among the trunk angles, and the relative and absolute reliabilities of the muscle hardness values, and the muscle hardness of the lumbar region according to the exercise task was investigated. [Results] Compared to standing, the sacrum had a more posterior tilt in the sitting position. The reliability and validity of the muscle hardness measures were high, and at low angles of trunk inclination, the hardness of the multifidus showed greater values in the sitting position. [Conclusion] It is possible to confirm the hardness of the lumbar spinal muscles with a muscle hardness meter, but attention should be paid to the influence of sacral tilt when investigating hardness in the sitting position compared to standing.
