Effect of Trunk Inclination Angles on Trunk Muscle Activity and Subjective Difficulties During Supine Bridge Exercise with a Suspension Device

Purpose: Recent studies have indicated that applying different inclination angles and suspension devices could be a useful way of performing exercises that include the co-activation of the trunk muscles. Present study was to examine the influences of changes in the inclination angle during trunk muscle activity while engaging in a bridge exercise with a suspension device. Methods: 18 healthy, physically active male volunteers completed three trunk inclination angles (15°, 30°, and 45°) for bridge exercise variations. The surface electromyography responses of the rectus abdominis, internal oblique (IO), erector spinae (ES), and rectus femoris (RF), as well as the subjective difficulty (Borg RPE score), were investigated during these bridge exercises. Results: The bridge with a 45° inclination angle suspension significantly increased the muscular activities of the RA and RF and increased the Borg RPE scores (p<0.05). The bridge with a 15° suspension significantly elevated the ES activities when compared to the other conditions. Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that a higher inclination angle could not activate the overall trunk muscles during the bridge exercise. The RA and RF produced greater activation during the bridge exercise with the higher inclination angle. On the other hand, the activities of the erector spine were greater during the bridge exercise with the lower inclination angle. The present study suggests that applying a low trunk inclination angle for the supine bridge exercise is suitable for activating the erector spine muscles.