Relationship between back muscle endurance and voluntary activation

There is some evidence that the Biering-Sorensen endurance test can discriminate low back pain sufferers from healthy individuals and can predict future back pain. This test relies on the subject's ability to voluntarily drive the back muscles. This neural drive, termed voluntary activation (VA) can be measured using the twitch interpolation technique. The aim of the current study was to investigate the relationship between back muscle endurance and VA. Twenty-one healthy volunteers (10 males) participated. Bilateral electromyographic recordings were obtained from erector spinae and rectus abdominis. Back extensor torque was recorded using a dynamometer. The protocol consisted of measurement of VA (using magnetic stimulation of the brain and assessment of the sizes of the evoked twitches) and measurement of endurance. There was a linear correlation (r(2)=1, P<0.01) between voluntary torque and VA. The mean (SEM) endurance time was 174.9 (12.8)s. There was no correlation between endurance and VA at either 100% MVC (r(2)=0.01, P=0.72) or at 50% MVC (r(2)=0.11, P=0.16). These findings indicate that the endurance of the back muscles, as assessed using this widely utilised test does not appear to be related to a subject's ability to drive their back muscles voluntarily either maximally or submaximally.