Effects of Indirect Pelvic Floor Muscle Activation Exercise Using a
                    Pressure Biofeedback Unit on Trunk Muscle Activity in Sitting
                    Position

Previous research identifies that pushing and pulling is responsible for approximately 9–18% of all low back injuries. Additionally, the handle design of a cart being pushed can dramatically alter a worker’s capacity to push (≅9.5%). Surprisingly little research has examined muscle activation of the low back and its role in muscle function. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of handle design combination of pushing a platform truck cart on trunk muscle activity. Twenty participants (10 males and 10 females, mean age = 24.3 ± 4.3 years) pushed 475 lbs using six different handle combinations involving handle orientation (vertical/horizontal/semi-pronated) and handle height (hip/shoulder). Multichannel high-density EMG (HDsEMG) was recorded for left and right rectus abdominis, erector spinae, and external obliques. Pushing at hip height with a horizontal handle orientation design (HH) resulted in significantly less (p < 0.05) muscle activity compared to the majority of other handle designs, as well as a significantly higher entropy than the shoulder handle height involving either the semi-pronated (p = 0.023) or vertical handle orientation (p = 0.028). The current research suggests that the combination of a hip height and horizontal orientation handle design may require increased muscle demand of the trunk and alter the overall muscle heterogeneity and pattern of the muscle activity.

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Validation and comparison of trunk muscle activities in male participants during exercise using an innovative device and abdominal bracing maneuvers

Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation ◽

10.3233/bmr-210001 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-8

Author(s):

Yuki Kurokawa ◽

Satoshi Kato ◽

Satoru Demura ◽

Kazuya Shinmura ◽

Noriaki Yokogawa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Muscle Activity ◽

Muscle Activation ◽

Voluntary Contraction ◽

Trunk Muscle ◽

Erector Spinae ◽

Trunk Muscles ◽

Activity Levels ◽

Significant Difference ◽

External Oblique ◽

Internal Oblique

BACKGROUND: Abdominal bracing is effective in strengthening the trunk muscles; however, assessing performance can be challenging. We created a device for performing abdominal trunk muscle exercises. The effectiveness of this device has not yet been evaluated or compared OBJECTIVE: We aimed to quantify muscle activity levels during exercise using our innovative device and to compare them with muscle activation during abdominal bracing maneuvers. METHODS: This study included 10 men who performed abdominal bracing exercises and exercises using our device. We measured surface electromyogram (EMG) activities of the rectus abdominis (RA), external oblique, internal oblique (IO), and erector spinae (ES) muscles in each of the exercises. The EMG data were normalized to those recorded during maximal voluntary contraction (%EMGmax). RESULTS: During the bracing exercise, the %EMGmax of IO was significantly higher than that of RA and ES (p< 0.05), whereas during the exercises using the device, the %EMGmax of IO was significantly higher than that of ES (p< 0.05). No significant difference was observed in the %EMGmax of any muscle between bracing exercises and the exercises using the device (p= 0.13–0.95). CONCLUSIONS: The use of our innovative device results in comparable activation to that observed during abdominal bracing.

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Exploring pelvic floor muscle activity in men with lower urinary tract symptoms

Neurourology and Urodynamics ◽

10.1002/nau.24267 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 39 (2) ◽

pp. 732-737

Author(s):

Ruben O. Vrolijks ◽

Françoise J. M. Notenboom‐Nas ◽

Deborah Boer ◽

Tamara Schouten ◽

Alice Timmerman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Urinary Tract ◽

Pelvic Floor ◽

Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms ◽

Muscle Activity ◽

Lower Urinary Tract ◽

Pelvic Floor Muscle ◽

Urinary Tract Symptoms ◽

Lower Urinary

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Effects of a Dynamic Chair on Chair Seat Motion and Trunk Muscle Activity during Office Tasks and Task Transitions

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph15122723 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 15 (12) ◽

pp. 2723 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Corina Nüesch ◽

Jan-Niklas Kreppke ◽

Annegret Mündermann ◽

Lars Donath

Keyword(s):

Young Adults ◽

Muscle Activity ◽

Muscle Activation ◽

Dynamic Condition ◽

Trunk Muscle ◽

Erector Spinae ◽

Task Transition ◽

The Right ◽

Hand Writing ◽

And Task

Employing dynamic office chairs might increase the physical (micro-) activity during prolonged office sitting. We investigated whether a dynamic BioSwing® chair increases chair sway and alters trunk muscle activation. Twenty-six healthy young adults performed four office tasks (reading, calling, typing, hand writing) and transitions between these tasks while sitting on a dynamic and on a static office chair. For all task-transitions, chair sway was higher in the dynamic condition (p < 0.05). Muscle activation changes were small with lower mean activity of the left obliquus internus during hand writing (p = 0.07), lower mean activity of the right erector spinae during the task-transition calling to hand writing (p = 0.036), and higher mean activity of the left erector spinae during the task-transition reading to calling (p = 0.07) on the dynamic chair. These results indicate that an increased BioSwing® chair sway only selectively alters trunk muscle activation. Adjustments of chair properties (i.e., swinging elements, foot positioning) are recommended.

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