THE INFLUENCE OF INTRA-ABDOMINAL PRESSURE ON THE LUMBAR SPINE
The given paper contains a review of studies on the definition of the role of intra-abdominal pressure in the mechanism of unloading in the lumbar spine. During the lifting tasks the back muscles of human responsible for maintaining natural location of the vertebral bodies. Significant weight to the loads, as well as sudden movements can lead to excessive muscle tension, which involve the damage in the spinal column. This applies particularly to the lumbar spine. Meanwhile, some of the theoretical and experimental studies show that the increase of intra-abdominal pressure reduces the probability of overloads of the lumbar spine. This is due to the fact that intra-abdominal pressure creates additional extensor torque acting on the spine in the process of retention and lifting heavy weights, and increases the stiffness of the lumbar spine. However, the relationship between the intra-abdominal pressure and the state of the spine remains poorly understood and requires an interdisciplinary approach, one of the most important areas of which is the biomechanical modelling.