• Journal of the Korean Academy of Clinical Electrophysiology
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.31-38
• /
• 2011

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of different supporting surfaces on trunk muscle activities during core stabilization exercises. Methods : A total of 20 healthy college students participated in this study for 6 weeks. In this study, we divided participants into a stable surface exercise group and an unstable surface exercise group. Each group performed core stabilization exercises of Curl-ups, Bridges, and Quadrupedal position. Core stabilization exercises were performed 3 times a week for 30 minutes during 6 weeks. The stable surface exercise group used a yoga mat while the unstable surface exercise group used AERO step. This study was designed using pre-test and post-test measurements. We used Surface Electromyograpy (sEMG) to measure for the rectus abdominis, external abdominal oblique, and multifidus muscle of trunk muscle activities. Data was processed using a paired sample t-test on SPSS 18.0. Results : For the stable surface exercise group there was a meaningful improvement in left rectus abdominis, left external abdominal oblique, and right multifidus (p<0.05). For the unstable surface exercise group, a meaningful improvement was seen in the left external abdominal oblique and right multifidus. Conclusion : From the experiment, we concluded that differences in surface can make various degrees of improvement in muscles activities, which suggests patients can choose a better option under their own conditions when planning to have a core stability exercise.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.113-119
• /
• 2020

Objective: The vibration device is one of the most commonly used warm-up devices not only for healthy athletes but also for healthy individuals. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the immediate effects of local vibration on ankle plantar flexor muscle activation and peak torque in healthy adults. Design: One-group pretest-posttest design. Methods: This was a single-group study comprising a total of 36 (16 males and 20 females) participants. The average age of the 36 participants was 22.3 years. All the participants' concentric and eccentric peak torques of the gastrocnemius lateralis muscle were measured using an isokinetic device. Simultaneously, the participants' muscle activity was measured by surface electromyography. After the pre-experimental data were collected, the participants comfortably sat on the prepared chair with their hips and knees flexed to 90°. While in sitting position, local vibration was applied for 10 minutes using a 1:1 ratio intermittent pulsing mode device based on a previous study. Then, the post-experimental data were collected immediately after the local vibration by performing a similar process performed during the pre-experimental data collection. Results: The results showed a significant difference in muscle activity and eccentric peak torque (p<0.05). On the contrary, concentric peak torque values showed an insignificant difference with pre- and post-value. Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrated that local vibration can be possibly considered as one of the effective ways to increase ankle plantar flexor muscle activity and muscle performance, specifically the eccentric peak torque, in healthy adults.