• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.15-25
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• 2022

PURPOSE: This study examined the effect of bridge exercise-abdominal draw-in maneuver (ADIM) with hip adductor co-contraction on the TrA thickness and whether it is effective as a core stability exercise. METHODS: The subjects of this study, 33 men with no history in the past and who provided prior consent, were selected through interviews with male students of S University. The subjects performed five movements, including bridge exercise and ADIM, and performed two demonstrations and two exercises in advance. The abdominal muscles were measured using ultrasonography once in each movement, and the abdominal muscle tone was measured using a soft tissue tone measurement. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in the thickness between the TrA and Internal Oblique Muscles at various bridge positions (p < .05), and no significant difference with the External Oblique Muscle (p < .05). There was no significant difference in muscle tone in the Rectus abdominis part (p > .05), but a significant difference in the Oblique Muscle part (p < .05). The muscle tone of the Oblique Muscles by position showed a significant difference in Bridge, BHa, and BA compared to the rest position (p < .05), but no significant difference with BHaA (p > .05). CONCLUSION: The thickness of TrA could be increased through bridge exercise, and TrA could be activated properly using ADIM and may be an effective exercise for core stabilization.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.165-171
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• 2012

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to investigate the change of abdominal muscle activation during unilateral leg raising in supine position among three hip abduction angles($0^{\circ}$, $15^{\circ}$, $30^{\circ}$). Methods : Twenty eight able-body volunteers who had no medical history of low back and hip joint were recruited for this study. Abdominal muscle activity was recorded using surface EMG from both sides of the rectus abdominis, internal/external oblique muscle during leg raising in each position. Results : The muscle activations induced under the three different positions were compared and results showed that there was significant difference only in the right external oblique muscle activation. Conclusion : This study suggest that leg raising of different hip abduction angles without trunk control has little influence on abdominal muscle co-activation.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.93-102
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• 2022

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to analyze the change in thickness of transvers abdominis, internal oblique, and external oblique when virtual reality based ring fit adventure is applied to young adults in order to investigate the effect of ring fit adventure on core stabilization. Methods : 30 subjects participated in the experiment. Subjects were randomly assigned to two groups. 15 subjects performed ring fit adventure core exercise (experimental group) and 15 subjects bridge and dead bug exercise (control group). The ring fit adventure core exercise program consists of 6 types, 1) bow pull, 2) overhead lunge twist, 3) pendulum bend, 4) seated ring raise, 5) plank, 6) warrior III pose. Each exercise was performed for 5 minutes, for a total of 30 minutes. The bridege and dead bug exercise were performed for 15 minutes each for a total of 30 minutes. All interventions were performed 3 times a week for 4 weeks. Thickness of the abdominal muscles was measured with a ultrasound. The paired t-test was used to compare the thickness of the transverse abdominis, internal oblique, and external oblique before and after intervention, and the comparison between groups was analyzed using the independent t-test. Results : As a result, in the experimental group, thickness of transverse abdominis and internal oblique increased significantly (p<.05), but external oblique decreased significantly (p<.05), and in the control group, thickness of transverse abdominis, internal oblique, and external oblique increased significantly (p<.05). There was a significant difference in external oblique in the difference between groups (p<.05). Conclusion : These study results showed that core exercise using ring fit adventure can reduce external oblique and increased selective muscle activity of transverse abdominis and internal oblique of the deep abdominal muscles, so it is meaningful as an effective intervention for core stabilization.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.533-539
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• 2012

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of pelvic floor muscle contraction with image feedback on Abdominal muscle thickness. METHODS: Twenty three adults participated in this study. Abdominal muscle thickness was measured by ultrasound in three condition(rest, pelvic floor muscle contraction, pelvic floor muscle contraction with image feedback). Subjects was contraction pelvic floor muscle by general method. And ultrasound(convex probe, 3.5MHz) was used to image feedback for selective pelvic floor muscle contraction. One-way ANOVA was used to compare abdominal muscle thickness in three condition. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in external oblique(p=.514) and internal oblique muscle(p=.250) thickness by three condition. There was significant difference in transverse abdominis thickness by three condition (Transverse abdominis thickness was highest while Pelvic floor muscle contraction than pelvic floor muscle contraction with image feedback and rest.)(p=.000). CONCLUSION: This study shows that pelvic floor muscle contraction with image feedback increase the thickness of transverse abdominis lesser than general pelvic floor muscle contraction.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.31-36
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• 2022

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate muscle activation according to the four strap lengths in the TRX plank exercise to provide scientific and accurate data on effective training methods. Method: Twenty healthy men who had at least 6 months of weight training experience and could fully adjusted plank exercise, were participate in this study (age: 25.2 ± 3.7 yrs., height: 174.2 ± 3.9 cm., weight: 71.2 ± 9 kg). To pursue the study purpose, surface electrodes were attached to trunk muscles (pectoralis major, rectus abdominis, external oblique, internal oblique, erector spinae, latissimus dorsi) and lower extramity muscles (gluteus maximus, rectus femoris, gastrocnemius), and the muscle activity was measured using 11-channel electromyography equipment. In order to verify the muscle activation according to the four strap lengths during TRX plank exercise, an one-way ANOVA with repeated measure was used with statistical significance level set at as α=.05. Results: First, there were statistically significant differences in pectoralis major, rectus abdominis, external oblique, internal oblique, and erector spinae among TRX strap lengths. Second, there were statistically significant differences in gluteus maximus, rectus femoris, and gastrocnemius among TRX strap lengths. Third, even though no statistically significant difference found in latissimus dorsi, but increased muscle activation tendency was showed as the length of the strap increased. Conclusion: From the results of this study, it may be possible that TRX exercise prevent injuries and improve lower extremity muscle as well as trunk muscles by setting appropriate length of strap.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.71-82
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• 2023

PURPOSE: This study examined the effect of training using video content on abdominal muscle thickness, Oswestry disability index (ODI), and pain in college students with chronic back pain. METHODS: Twenty-nine college students with chronic back pain participated in this study. The subjects were assigned randomly to 15 experimental groups who trained using video content and 14 control groups who exercised voluntarily using back exercise leaflets. The video used for the intervention was obtained from YouTube, and the difficulty level of the video was classified into six levels. Both groups participated in the intervention for 40 minutes/day, three times a week for six weeks, and the variables of abdominal muscle thickness, ODI, and pain were compared before and after the intervention. RESULTS: In the experimental group, there were statistically significant changes in the thickness of the internal oblique and transverse abdominis muscles, ODI, and pain after the intervention, except for the external oblique muscle (p < .05). In the control group, there was no statistically significant difference in all variables after the intervention (p > .05). A statistically significant difference in all variables was observed between the experimental group and the control group after the intervention except for the external oblique muscle (p < .05). CONCLUSION: Treatment of chronic low back pain using video content is a possible alternative treatment if quality images are selected and the difficulty levels are adjusted.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.80-86
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• 2008

Cross-legged sitting postures are commonly assumed during computer work. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of leg crossing on trunk muscle activity while typing at a computer. Trunk muscle activity was measured in three 8 different sitting postures, in random order. These posture were: normal sitting with a straight trunk and both feet on the floor (NS), upper leg crossing (ULC), and ankle on knee (AOK). The right leg was crossed onto the left leg in both cross-legged postures. Twenty able-bodied male volunteers participated in this study. Subjects typed on a computer keyboard for one minute. Surface electromyography (EMG) was used to record bilateral muscle activity in the external oblique (EO). internal oblique (IO), and rectus abdominis (RA). The EMG activity of each muscle in the NS posture was used as a reference (100% EMG activity) in relation to the two cross-legged postures. Muscle activity in the right EO. right IO, and left IO was significantly lower in the ULC posture than in the NS posture. In contrast, muscle activity in the right RA was significantly higher in the ULC posture than in the NS posture. Muscle activity in the tight RA was significantly higher in the AOK posture, as compared to the NS posture, whereas activity in the left IO was significantly lower in the AOK posture, as compared to the NS posture. The right-left muscle activity ratios in the EO and IO showed significantly different patterns in the cross-legged postures, suggesting that asymmetrical right-left oblique muscle activity had occurred.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.41-48
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• 2023

Background: This study examined the effects of the bridge exercise with trunk rotation on the thickness of body trunk muscles, including external oblique, internal oblique, and transverse abdominis in healthy male adults. Design: Randomized controlled trial Methods: Twenty-four men were evenly divided into a trunk rotation bridge exercise group and a basic bridge exercise group by drawing lots. The two groups performed the respective exercise for thirty minutes, three times a week for six weeks. repeated measure analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used after distinguishing between three different time points before the experiment, three weeks after the experiment, and six weeks after the experiment. The significance level was set at 0.05. In case an interaction between time and group existed, the paired t-test was used to examine the within-group difference. The independent-sample t-test was used to check the between-group difference. The significance level was set at 0.05. Results: All the men showed a significant change over time in their external oblique, internal oblique, and transverse abdominis muscles. An interaction between time and group was also found (p<0.05). Conclusion: The bridge exercise with trunk rotation causes a meaningful difference in the thickness of external oblique, internal oblique, and transverse abdominis muscles. Therefore, this study proposes the use of this exercise for lower-back stabilization in future research and clinical settings.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.1-10
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• 2007

Purpose: Leg-crossing sitting is very common for men and woman. No solid evidence exists for either a beneficial or a detrimental effect of this posture. This study investigated the change of activities of trunk muscles between the normal group and the low back pain group during various leg-crossing positions. Methods: The subjects were consisted of 10 subjects who don't have low back pain and 10 subjects who have low back pain. In this study, we used electromyography(EMG) to evaluate the activities of both the trunk muscles (rectus abdominis, external oblique, internal oblique, and multifidus) during various leg-crossing positions (up-right, leg-crossing, tailor-crossing, and ankle-crossing). We analyzed the data by using repeated one way ANOVA. Results: In normal group, there were increased in EMG activities of trunk muscles, but no significant differences during leg-crossing positions. In back pain group, there were increased in EMG activities of right external oblique, left. internal oblique, and both multifidus muscles in leg-crossing and tailor-crossing position, but no significant differences during leg-crossing positions. There was no significant difference of muscle activity of trunk muscles between the back pain group and the normal group. Conclusion: We suggest that low back pain people who have weak muscles of rectus abdominis, external and internal oblique are often experienced in leg-crossing posture than normal. To compensate this unstability of trunk, leg-crossing posture is substituted passive structure for activities of active muscle.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.9-15
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• 2016

Background: Squatting is one of the best functional exercises to strengthen the quadriceps muscle in independent gait and activities of daily living. Although the use of a gym ball during squat exercise is the most common way of strengthening the vastus medialis oblique (VMO) muscle, published data on this subject are limited. Objects: The purpose of this study was to compare the sequential muscle activation of the VMO and vastus lateralis (VL) muscles during squat exercise using a gym ball at different knee flexion angles. Methods: Forty healthy adults were randomly divided into experimental (squat exercise using a gym ball) and control (squat exercise alone) groups, in which squats were performed at $45^{\circ}$ and $90^{\circ}$ knee flexion. Electromyographic (EMG) activity data were collected over 10 seconds under the 2 angles of knee flexion ($45^{\circ}$ and $90^{\circ}$). Results: There was significant group and time interaction effect for VMO and VL muscle activation at $45^{\circ}$ knee flexion. This was similarly demonstrated at $90^{\circ}$ knee flexion. No significant group main effect and time main effect for VMO and VL muscle activation were noted at $45^{\circ}$ knee flexion, respectively. In contrast, there was significant group main effect and time main effect for VMO and VL muscle activation at $90^{\circ}$ knee flexion. These significant differences were demonstrated through two-way analysis of variance over repeated measurements, suggesting that the EMG activity of the VMO muscle during squatting with a gym ball showed remarkable improvement compared to that of the VL muscle. Conclusion: This research suggests that squat exercise using a gym ball may be more beneficial in improving the activity of VMO than of the VL muscle at both $45^{\circ}$ and $90^{\circ}$ of knee flexion, respectively. We highly recommend squat exercises with a gym ball for selective strengthening of the VMO muscle in knee rehabilitation.