Use of antagonist muscle EMG in the assessment of neuromuscular health of the low back

Journal of Physiological Anthropology

Gwanseob Shin¹  Hwayeong Kang¹  Nakyung Lee¹ 

[1] Department of Human and Systems Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulju-gun 689-798, Ulsan, Korea

关键词: Spine stability;    Biomechanics;    Lumbar spine;    Low back pain;    EMG;    Surface electromyography;   

Others  :  1182589
DOI  :  10.1186/s40101-015-0055-5

 received in 2014-09-27, accepted in 2015-03-27,  发布年份 2015

【 摘 要 】

Background

Non-specific low back pain (LBP) has been one of the most frequently occurring musculoskeletal problems. Impairment in the mechanical stability of the lumbar spine has been known to lower the safety margin of the spine musculature and can result in the occurrence of pain symptoms of the low back area. Previously, changes in spinal stability have been identified by investigating recruitment patterns of low back and abdominal muscles in laboratory experiments with controlled postures and physical activities that were hard to conduct in daily life. The main objective of this study was to explore the possibility of developing a reliable spine stability assessment method using surface electromyography (EMG) of the low back and abdominal muscles in common physical activities.

Methods

Twenty asymptomatic young participants conducted normal walking, plank, and isometric back extension activities prior to and immediately after maintaining a 10-min static upper body deep flexion on a flat bed. EMG data of the erector spinae, external oblique, and rectus abdominals were collected bilaterally, and their mean normalized amplitude values were compared between before and after the static deep flexion. Changes in the amplitude and co-contraction ratio values were evaluated to understand how muscle recruitment patterns have changed after the static deep flexion.

Results

Mean normalized amplitude of antagonist muscles (erector spinae muscles while conducting plank; external oblique and rectus abdominal muscles while conducting isometric back extension) decreased significantly (P < 0.05) after the 10-min static deep flexion. Normalized amplitude of agonist muscles did not vary significantly after deep flexion.

Conclusions

Results of this study suggest the possibility of using surface EMG in the evaluation of spinal stability and low back health status in simple exercise postures that can be done in non-laboratory settings. Specifically, amplitude of antagonist muscles was found to be more sensitive than agonist muscles in identifying changes in the spinal stability associated with the 10-min static deep flexion. Further research with various loading conditions and physical activities need to be performed to improve the reliability and utility of the findings of the current study.

【 授权许可】

   
2015 Lee et al.; licensee BioMed Central.

【 图 表 】

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