{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,5]],"date-time":"2025-12-05T06:35:18Z","timestamp":1764916518196,"version":"3.46.0"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,5]],"date-time":"2025-12-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1764892800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Sports Act. Living"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Low back pain is common increases stair-related fall. The Tai Chi \u201cXuling Dingjin\u201d posture may enhance spinal stability, its biomechanical mechanisms remain unclear. This study investigates the effects of this posture on lumbar biomechanics during stair descent, and provides theoretical support for its application in balance improvement and rehabilitation.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Research question<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To investigate the biomechanical effects of Tai Chi's \u201cXuling Dingjin\u201d posture on the lumbar spine and whether it enhances the stability of the lumbar spine in the staircase environment.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Twelve adults (6 males and 6 females) with a minimum of 5 years of Tai Chi experience participated in the study. Lumbar biomechanics were assessed during normal stair descent (D) and stair descent incorporating the \u201cXuling Dingjin\u201d posture (XD) using a Vicon motion capture system, an AMTI force platform, OpenSim biomechanical analysis software, and finite element analysis.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Under the XD condition, deep stabilizing muscles (especially quadratus lumborum) exhibited earlier and more intense activation. Additionally, there was a smaller offset between the center of mass (COM) and center of pressure (COP), indicating improved posture stability. Lumbar rotation around the Z-axis was significantly decreased, and finite element analysis demonstrated a more uniform pressure distribution across the intervertebral discs.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Maintaining the \u201cXuling Dingjin\u201d posture can activate deep stabilizers earlier and more effectively, redistributing lumbar pressure through postural adjustment, thereby enhancing spinal stability and offering potential value in reducing fall risk.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fspor.2025.1637586","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,5]],"date-time":"2025-12-05T06:27:26Z","timestamp":1764916046000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The impact of Tai Chi\u2019s \u201cXuling Dingjin\u201d posture on lumbar biomechanics during stair descent"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"7","author":[{"given":"Yiting","family":"Duan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Haibin","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jian","family":"Jiang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Liqing","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Fan","family":"Gao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Suheng","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yulong","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Shuye","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Shudong","family":"Yan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"950","DOI":"10.1016\/s0268-0033(03)00179-7","article-title":"Frontal and sagittal plane analyses of the stair climbing task in healthy adults aged over 40 years: what are the challenges compared to level walking?","volume":"18","author":"Nadeau","year":"2003","journal-title":"Clin Biomech (Bristol)"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1885","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(05)67604-0","article-title":"Prevention of falls and conse- quent injuries in elderly people","volume":"366","author":"Annus","year":"2005","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"374","DOI":"10.1093\/ageing\/afl084","article-title":"Falls in older people: epidemiology, risk factors and strategies for prevention","volume":"35","author":"Ubenstein","year":"2006","journal-title":"Age Ageing"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"567","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1532-5415.2000.tb05006.x","article-title":"Stair negotiation in older people: a review","volume":"48","author":"Startzell","year":"2000","journal-title":"J Am Geriatr Soc"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"222","DOI":"10.1016\/j.gaitpost.2011.05.002","article-title":"Comparison of 3D spinal motions during stair-climbing between individuals with and without low back pain","volume":"34","author":"Lee","year":"2011","journal-title":"Gait Posture"},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"14541","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-024-65665-2","article-title":"Biomechanical analysis of trunk and lower limbs during stair activity in patients with scoliosis","volume":"14","author":"Gou","year":"2024","journal-title":"Sci Rep"},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"19","DOI":"10.1007\/s00586-010-1518-3","article-title":"A sys- tematic review on the effectiveness of physical and rehabilita - tion interventions for chronic non- specific low back pain","volume":"20","author":"van Middelkoop","year":"2011","journal-title":"Eur Spine J"},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"433","DOI":"10.1186\/s12891-025-08658-0","article-title":"Evaluating the effectiveness of six exercise interventions for low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"26","author":"Cheng","year":"2025","journal-title":"BMC Musculoskelet Disord"},{"key":"B9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"288","DOI":"10.1080\/15412555.2021.1928037","article-title":"Exploring tai chi exercise and mind-body breathing in patients with COPD in a randomized controlled feasibility trial","volume":"18","author":"Kraemer","year":"2021","journal-title":"COPD"},{"key":"B10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1520508","DOI":"10.3389\/fnbeh.2024.1520508","article-title":"The effects of an acute tai chi on emotional memory and prefrontal cortex activation: a fNIRS study","volume":"18","author":"Wang","year":"2025","journal-title":"Front Behav Neurosci"},{"key":"B11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1579139","DOI":"10.3389\/fbioe.2025.1579139","article-title":"The impact of reverse abdominal breathing on lower limb muscle strength and muscle synergy characteristics in tai chi chuan","volume":"13","author":"Yin","year":"2025","journal-title":"Front Bioeng Biotechnol"},{"key":"B12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"977","DOI":"10.3390\/life15060977","article-title":"A cross-sectional study on the biomechanical effects of squat depth and movement speed on dynamic postural stability in tai chi","volume":"15","author":"Li","year":"2025","journal-title":"Life (Basel)"},{"key":"B13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1236050","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2023.1236050","article-title":"Tai chi for fall prevention and balance improvement in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials","volume":"11","author":"Chen","year":"2023","journal-title":"Front Public Health"},{"key":"B14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"42","DOI":"10.3969\/j.issn.1007-7413.2006.04.011","article-title":"On the concept of \u201cxu ling ding jin\u201d in chen-style tai chi","volume":"10","author":"Chen","year":"2006","journal-title":"Sports Sci Res"},{"key":"B15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"64","DOI":"10.3969\/j.issn.1000-520X.2011.03.013","article-title":"Analysis of the energy conversion model for force accumulation and release in chen-style tai chi","volume":"45","author":"Zhang","year":"2011","journal-title":"J Wuhan Inst Phys Educ"},{"key":"B16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"129","DOI":"10.19582\/j.cnki.11-3785\/g8.2017.01.021","article-title":"An empirical study on the impact of tai chi cloud hands technique on spinal curvature","volume":"40","author":"Wu","year":"2017","journal-title":"Journal of Beijing Sport University"},{"key":"B17","first-page":"74","article-title":"The intrinsic connection between tai chi\u2019s \u201cxuling dingjin\u201d, \u201cqi chen dantian\u201d and spinal core stability training","volume":"42","author":"Zhou","year":"2024","journal-title":"Chin J Health Preserv Rehabil"},{"key":"B18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"245","DOI":"10.1016\/j.smhs.2022.06.002","article-title":"Biomechanics analysis of seven tai chi movements","volume":"4","author":"Law","year":"2022","journal-title":"Sports Med Health Sci"},{"key":"B19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1593","DOI":"10.1016\/j.apmr.2004.01.020","article-title":"The influence of tai chi training on the center of pressure trajectory during gait initiation in older adults","volume":"85","author":"Hass","year":"2004","journal-title":"Arch Phys Med Rehabil"},{"key":"B20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"39","DOI":"10.7546\/ijba.2018.22.1.39-48","article-title":"Biomechanical analysis of the waist movement of Taijiquan based on finite element method","volume":"22","author":"Zhao","year":"2018","journal-title":"Int J Bioauto"},{"key":"B21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"243","DOI":"10.1007\/s13246-021-00973-9","article-title":"Determination of the correlation between muscle forces obtained from OpenSim and muscle activities obtained from electromyography in the elderly","volume":"44","author":"Karimi","year":"2021","journal-title":"Phys Eng Sci Med"},{"key":"B22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"358","DOI":"10.1007\/s00586-010-1543-2","article-title":"Center of pressure excursion as a measure of balance performance in patients with non-specific low back pain compared to healthy controls: a systematic review of the literature","volume":"20","author":"Ruhe","year":"2011","journal-title":"Eur Spine J"},{"key":"B23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"9","DOI":"10.1016\/0966-6362(93)90038-3","article-title":"Trajectory of the body COG and COP during initiation and termination of gait","volume":"1","author":"Jian","year":"1993","journal-title":"Gait Posture"},{"key":"B24","first-page":"644","article-title":"Human kinematics modeling and simulation based on OpenSim","author":"Kang","year":"2021"},{"key":"B25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"167","DOI":"10.1016\/0021-9290(85)90202-7","article-title":"Biomechanical properties of spinal ligaments and a histological study of the supraspinal ligament in traction","volume":"18","author":"Chazal","year":"1985","journal-title":"J Biomech"},{"key":"B26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"9618940","DOI":"10.1155\/2017\/9618940","article-title":"The effects of physiological biomechanical loading on intradiscal pressure and Annulus stress in lumbar spine: a finite element analysis","volume":"2017","author":"Zahari","year":"2017","journal-title":"J Healthc Eng"},{"key":"B27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2313","DOI":"10.1007\/s10439-023-03273-3","article-title":"EMG validation of a subject-specific thoracolumbar spine musculoskeletal model during dynamic activities in older adults","volume":"51","author":"Alemi","year":"2023","journal-title":"Ann Biomed Eng"},{"key":"B28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1326","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbiomech.2006.05.019","article-title":"Novel model to analyze the effect of a large compressive follower pre-load on range of motions in a lumbar spine","volume":"40","author":"Renner","year":"2007","journal-title":"J Biomech"},{"key":"B29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"110320","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbiomech.2021.110320","article-title":"A comprehensive, open-source dataset of lower limb biomechanics in multiple conditions of stairs, ramps, and level-ground ambulation and transitions","volume":"119","author":"Camargo","year":"2021","journal-title":"J Biomech"},{"key":"B30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"473","DOI":"10.1007\/s40279-015-0444-2","article-title":"Can exercise positively influence the intervertebral disc?","volume":"46","author":"Belav\u00fd","year":"2016","journal-title":"Sports Med"},{"key":"B31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"10","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1600-0838.1995.tb00004.x","article-title":"The role of the psoas and iliacus muscles for stability and movement of the lumbar spine, pelvis and hip","volume":"5","author":"Andersson","year":"1995","journal-title":"Scand J Med Sci Sports"},{"key":"B32","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"190","DOI":"10.1016\/j.clinbiomech.2008.10.005","article-title":"Effect of trunk inclination on lower limb joint and lumbar moments in able men during the stance phase of gait","volume":"24","author":"Leteneur","year":"2009","journal-title":"Clin Biomech"},{"key":"B33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"733","DOI":"10.1016\/0021-9290(88)90282-5","article-title":"An integrated biomechanical analysis of normal stair ascent and descent","volume":"21","author":"McFadyen","year":"1988","journal-title":"J Biomech"},{"key":"B34","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"M72","DOI":"10.1093\/geronj\/49.2.M72","article-title":"A prospective study of postural balance and risk of falling in an ambulatory and independent elderly population","volume":"49","author":"Maki","year":"1994","journal-title":"J Gerontol"},{"key":"B35","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1211","DOI":"10.1152\/jn.1998.80.3.1211","article-title":"Stiffness control of balance in quiet standing","volume":"80","author":"Winter","year":"1998","journal-title":"J Neurophysiol"},{"key":"B36","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1097","DOI":"10.1152\/jn.2002.88.3.1097","article-title":"Sensorimotor integration in human postural control","volume":"88","author":"Peterka","year":"2002","journal-title":"J Neurophysiol"},{"key":"B37","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1102","DOI":"10.1016\/j.apmr.2018.07.425","article-title":"Effects of tai chi on lower limb proprioception in adults aged over 55: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"100","author":"Zou","year":"2019","journal-title":"Arch Phys Med Rehabil"},{"key":"B38","first-page":"98","article-title":"Influence of core stability exercise on lumbar vertebral instability in patients presented with chronic low back pain: a randomized clinical trial","volume":"6","author":"Javadian","year":"2015","journal-title":"Caspian J Intern Med"},{"key":"B39","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"182","DOI":"10.1097\/00003677-200310000-00005","article-title":"Lateral stability and falls in older people","volume":"31","author":"Rogers","year":"2003","journal-title":"Exerc Sport Sci Rev"},{"key":"B40","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"457","DOI":"10.3390\/life12030457","article-title":"Comparison of in vivo intradiscal pressure between sitting and standing in human lumbar spine: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"12","author":"Li","year":"2022","journal-title":"Life (Basel)"},{"key":"B41","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"S333","DOI":"10.1007\/s00586-013-2855-9","article-title":"Mechanical loading of the intervertebral disc: from the macroscopic to the cellular level","volume":"23","author":"Neidlinger-Wilke","year":"2014","journal-title":"Eur Spine J"},{"key":"B42","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e70021","DOI":"10.1002\/jsp2.70021","article-title":"Contemporary clinical perspectives on chronic low back pain: The biology, mechanics, etc. underpinning clinical and radiological evaluation","volume":"8","author":"Sima","year":"2025","journal-title":"JOR Spine"},{"key":"B43","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"549","DOI":"10.1249\/MSS.0000000000002179","article-title":"Age-related deficits in voluntary activation: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"52","author":"Rozand","year":"2020","journal-title":"Med Sci Sports Exerc"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Sports and Active Living"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fspor.2025.1637586\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,5]],"date-time":"2025-12-05T06:27:29Z","timestamp":1764916049000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fspor.2025.1637586\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,5]]},"references-count":43,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fspor.2025.1637586"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fspor.2025.1637586","relation":{},"ISSN":["2624-9367"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2624-9367","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,5]]},"article-number":"1637586"}}