Effect of psoas major pre-activation on electromyographic activity of the abdominal muscles and pelvic rotation during active leg raising.
In-Cheol Jeon
PMID 30349174WHAT IT FOUND
Raising the opposite heel one inch before active leg raising increased abdominal muscle activity and reduced pelvic rotation in healthy men.
It did not test pain, function, or patients.
Key findings
01Raising the contralateral heel 1 inch before active leg raising increased abdominal muscle activity during the leg raise.
02Rectus abdominis, external oblique, and internal oblique activity averaged 21.14%, 15.13%, and 18.85% of maximum voluntary contraction with pre-activation, compared with 8.12%, 9.17%, and 12.11% during conventional leg raising.
03Pelvic rotation averaged 2.17° with pre-activation and 7.24° with conventional leg raising.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The sample was 20 healthy men, so the result may not apply to women, older adults, or people with back pain. The outcomes were muscle electrical activity and pelvic rotation, not pain, function, or patient recovery. Surface EMG may include cross-talk from nearby muscles, and the psoas was not measured with fine-wire EMG. The task was performed in a laboratory setting.
Declared interests
The work was supported by a National Research Foundation of Korea grant funded by the Korean government. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that this improves back pain or patient function. It measured muscle electrical activity and pelvic rotation in healthy men during a laboratory task, not clinical outcomes.