{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,16]],"date-time":"2026-03-16T23:24:33Z","timestamp":1773703473241,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":53,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,19]],"date-time":"2025-11-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1763510400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Rehabilitation Research Center-Foundation for Science and Technology","award":["UI\/BD\/151415\/2021"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UI\/BD\/151415\/2021"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Bioengineering"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Acute low back pain can impair motor control, yet its effects on force steadiness and cortical activity remain unclear. Methods: Thirty-three healthy adults (25 men, 8 women) performed a sustained spinal extension task at 20% of their maximum voluntary contraction under pre- and during-pain conditions induced by a hypertonic saline injection, as well as pre- and post-isotonic injection. Electromyography was recorded from the right and left longissimus muscles, and electroencephalography was collected from motor cortical areas. Spectral power in the alpha, beta, and gamma bands, along with corticomuscular and cortico-cortical coherence, was analyzed. Results: Acute pain reduced force steadiness and altered cortical activity, with increased beta and gamma band power in the prefrontal cortex and decreased alpha power in the motor cortex. Localized changes in corticomuscular coherence were observed in the Cz region (beta and gamma bands) during pain, suggesting nociceptive modulation of corticomuscular coupling. Conclusions: Experimentally induced acute low back pain disrupts motor control by reducing force steadiness and modifying cortical activation patterns, highlighting the interplay between pain and neuromuscular regulation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/bioengineering12111269","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,19]],"date-time":"2025-11-19T10:02:13Z","timestamp":1763546533000},"page":"1269","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Disrupted Corticomuscular Coherence and Force Steadiness During Acute Low Back Pain"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6765-6475","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Franciele","family":"Parolini","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Rehabilitation Research (CIR), ESS, Polytechnic of Porto, Rua Dr. Ant\u00f3nio Bernardino de Almeida, 4249-015 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Porto Biomechanics Laboratory, University of Porto, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4814-9261","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Klaus","family":"Becker","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Porto Biomechanics Laboratory, University of Porto, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Center of Research, Education, Innovation and Intervention in Sport, Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4528-4644","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ulysses F.","family":"Ervilha","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Porto Biomechanics Laboratory, University of Porto, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Laboratory of Physical Activity Sciences, School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities, University of S\u00e3o Paulo, S\u00e3o Paulo 05508-220, Brazil"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7394-7604","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rubim","family":"Santos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Rehabilitation Research (CIR), ESS, Polytechnic of Porto, Rua Dr. Ant\u00f3nio Bernardino de Almeida, 4249-015 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4109-2939","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jo\u00e3o Paulo","family":"Vilas-Boas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Porto Biomechanics Laboratory, University of Porto, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Center of Research, Education, Innovation and Intervention in Sport, Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"given":"M\u00e1rcio Fagundes","family":"Goethel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Porto Biomechanics Laboratory, University of Porto, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Center of Research, Education, Innovation and Intervention in Sport, Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Parolini, F., Goethel, M., Becker, K., Fernandes, C., Fernandes, R.J., Ervilha, U.F., Santos, R., and Vilas-Boas, J.P. 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