Activity of the Quadratus Lumborum and Trunk Muscles Relates to Pelvic Tilt Angle During Pelvic Tilt Exercises

OBJECTIVE

Pelvic tilt exercises are used clinically to correct lumbopelvic alignment. The anterior and posterior layers of the quadratus lumborum are important for pelvic motor control in the coronal plane. This study aimed to evaluate whether the anterior and posterior activity is related to the pelvic tilt angle during pelvic tilt exercises.

DESIGN

The study design was single-occasion repeated measures in a randomized manner. Twelve healthy men performed the four directions of the pelvic tilt exercises (anterior or posterior pelvic tilt and lateral pelvic elevation on the ipsilateral or contralateral measurement side). The electromyographies of the anterior and posterior were recorded using intramuscular fine-wire electrodes and normalized to isometric peak electromyography.

RESULTS

The activity of the anterior and posterior during lateral pelvic elevation on the ipsilateral measurement side (19.0 ± 16.0 percent of maximal voluntary isometric contraction) was significantly higher than that during other directions of the pelvic tilt exercises (P < 0.01). There was a significant positive correlation between the anterior activity and the maximum change angles of pelvic tilt during lateral pelvic elevation on the ipsilateral measurement side (r = 0.674, P = 0.016).

CONCLUSIONS

The anterior activity was related to a large lateral pelvic elevation angle on the ipsilateral side during pelvic tilt exercises.

Analysis of muscle activity during active pelvic tilting in sagittal plane

BACKGROUND

Pelvic tilting is performed to improve lumbopelvic flexibility or retrain the motor control of local muscles. However, few studies investigated the activity of local muscles during pelvic tilting.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to investigate muscle activity during anterior and posterior pelvic tilting.

METHOD

Twelve healthy males (age, 22.6 ± 1.4 years) participated. Fine-wire electrodes were inserted into the bilateral lumbar multifidus (MF) and transversus abdominis (TrA). Surface electrodes were used to record activity of the bilateral rectus abdominis, external oblique, and erector spinae (ES), and the unilateral right latissimus dorsi, gluteus maximus, semitendinosus, and rectus femoris muscles. The electromyographic activities during anterior and posterior pelvic tilting in a standing position were recorded and expressed as a percentage of the maximum voluntary contraction (%MVC) for each muscle.

RESULTS

The activities of the bilateral MF (right: 23.9 ± 15.9 %MVC, left: 23.9 ± 15.1 %MVC) and right ES (19.0 ± 13.3 %MVC) were significantly greater than those of the other muscles during anterior pelvic tilting. The activity of the left TrA (14.8 ± 16.4 %MVC) was significantly greater than that of the other muscles during posterior pelvic tilting.

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggested that the MF and ES are related to anterior pelvic tilting. The activity of the TrA, which was classified as a local muscle, was greater during posterior pelvic tilting. This study indicated that local muscles such as the MF and TrA may be related to pelvic tilting.

Abdominal muscle recruitment during a range of voluntary exercises

Various exercises are used to retrain the abdominal muscles in the management of low back pain and other musculoskeletal disorders. However, few studies have directly investigated the activity of all the abdominal muscles or the recruitment of regions of the abdominal muscles during these manoeuvres. This study examined the activity of different regions of transversus abdominis (TrA), obliquus internus (OI) and externus abdominis (OE), and rectus abdominis (RA), and movement of the lumbar spine, pelvis and abdomen during inward movement of the lower abdominal wall, abdominal bracing, pelvic tilting, and inward movement of the lower and upper abdominal wall. Inward movement of the lower abdominal wall in supine produced greater activity of TrA compared to OI, OE and RA. During posterior pelvic tilting, middle OI was most active and with abdominal bracing, OE was predominantly recruited. Regions of TrA were recruited differentially and an inverse relationship between lumbopelvic motion and TrA electromyography (EMG) was found. This study indicates that inward movement of the lower abdominal wall in supine produces the most independent activity of TrA relative to the other abdominal muscles, recruitment varies between regions of TrA, and observation of abdominal and lumbopelvic motion may assist in evaluation of exercise performance.

Muscle activation during exercises to improve trunk stability in men with low back pain

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the relative activation amplitudes from 3 abdominal and 2 trunk extensor muscle sites of persons with low back pain (LBP) performing the pelvic-tilt, the abdominal-hollowing, and level 1 of the trunk stability test (TST) exercises and to compare the activation amplitudes among muscle sites and exercises.

DESIGN

A prospective, comparative, repeated-measures design.

SETTING

Motion analysis research laboratory.

PARTICIPANTS

Fourteen men with LBP (mean duration, 8y; mean age +/- standard deviation, 39+/-5y).

INTERVENTIONS

Subjects performed 3 exercises in random order while surface electromyograms were recorded from 5 muscle sites: lower and upper rectus abdominus, external oblique, erector spinae, and multifidus. The exercises were divided into 2 phases: a movement phase and a stabilization phase. The root-mean-square (RMS) electromyographic amplitude for each phase was calculated and normalized to the highest RMS amplitude from a series of 4 exercises, which attempted to elicit maximal voluntary isometric contractions (MVICs) for each muscle. A 2-factor, repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) tested the muscle by exercise interaction and the 2 main effects for each phase separately.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Normalized RMS amplitude was the main dependent variable. The ensemble-average profiles for each muscle were calculated to examine the phasing of activation throughout the exercises.

RESULTS

The ANOVA revealed a statistically significant muscle-by-exercise interaction (P<.05) for both phases, which showed that the 3 exercises; recruited the 5 muscle sites using different patterns of relative amplitudes. The external oblique muscle site was activated to higher amplitudes than the other 4 muscle sites for all 3 exercises; the highest normalized RMS activity occurred at the external oblique during the pelvic tilt (32% MVIC). The phasic patterns among the 5 muscle sites were not consistent for the TST but were consistent among the 5 sites for the other 2 exercises.

CONCLUSIONS

None of the exercises recruited the abdominal muscles to intensities deemed adequate for strengthening. The TST challenges the coordination of muscle activity during the leg-loading task (stabilization phase) as evidenced by changes in amplitudes over the total exercise time for the external oblique site, but not the other 4 sites. All 3 exercises could be used as initial exercises in a dynamic stability progression when low-recruitment amplitudes of specific muscles were the objective but not for strengthening.

Muscle activation in therapeutic exercises to improve trunk stability

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the relative activation amplitudes from 3 abdominal and 2 trunk extensor muscle sites in healthy subjects performing the pelvic tilt, abdominal hollowing, and level 1 of the trunk stability test (TST level 1) exercises and to compare the activation amplitudes among muscle sites and exercises.

DESIGN

Prospective comparative study.

SETTING

Motion Analysis Research Center, Dalhousie University, Canada.

PARTICIPANTS

Twenty-four healthy men (mean age, 30 +/- 8.1 yr [SD]) without low back pain.

INTERVENTIONS

Subjects performed 3 exercises in a balanced order, repeating each exercise 5 times while surface electromyography (EMG) was recorded from the 5 muscle sites. Exercises were divided into 2 phases: movement and stabilization. The root-mean-square amplitude of the EMG for each phase was calculated and normalized to the maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) amplitude for each muscle. A 2-factor repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) tested the muscle by exercise interaction and the main effects for each phase separately.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Normalized activation amplitude was the main dependent variable. Ensemble-average curves were calculated to examine the phasing of activation.

RESULTS

ANOVA showed a statistically significant interaction (p < .05) for both phases, indicating the 3 exercises recruited the 5 muscle sites using different patterns of relative activation. The external oblique (EO) muscle site was activated to higher amplitudes than the other 4 sites in all 3 exercises for both phases. The highest activity was recorded from the EO during the pelvic tilt, just more than 25% of MVIC. The only exercise to recruit the erector spinae to significantly higher amplitudes than the multifidus site was the TST level 1.

CONCLUSIONS

Study exercises were not interchangeable for the patterns of trunk muscle activation amplitudes. The exercises did not recruit the abdominal muscles to adequate levels for strengthening for this healthy sample; however, all 5 muscle sites were activated, forming the basis of a stabilizing exercise approach.