Influence of seat tilt motion on discomfort perception during a simulated driving activity

BACKGROUND: Discomfort perceived in activities where there is a prolonged sitting posture are normally compensated in a natural way by means of macro-repositioning movements in the seat. Nevertheless, evidence shows that such movements are not able to palliate discomfort due to lumbar pain. OBJECTIVE: This study involves research performed to demonstrate whether induced postural changes are able to mitigate this type of discomfort during a simulated driving activity. METHODS: Twenty-four subjects with lumbar pain (LBP) and without lumbar pain (WLBP) underwent 90 min of simulated driving activities while periodic variations of seat tilt (Tt) were implemented. RESULTS: Discomfort perception due to lumbar pain significantly decreased in the case of Tt compared with the case of WTt (without seat tilt), and significant differences were found (p = 0.02). However, treatments with Tt indicated that no substantial differences exist between LBP and WLBP subjects when considering discomfort perception due to lumbar pain and the erector spinae activity. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed that periodic variations on seat tilt can help to reduce discomfort perception due to lumbar pain during driving activities, regardless of the health condition of the subject.