Mean individual muscle activities and ratios of total muscle activities in a selective muscle strengthening experiment: the effects of lower limb muscle activity based on mediolateral slope angles during a one-leg stance.
Sang-Yeol Lee
PMID 27799690WHAT IT FOUND
At slopes of 0°, 5°, 10°, 15°, 20°, and 25° during one-leg stance, electrical activity differed for the gluteus medius, hamstring, and medial gastrocnemius.
The medial gastrocnemius percentage of total activity also differed. This was in 21 healthy volunteers.
Key findings
01During one-leg stance on mediolateral slopes of 0°, 5°, 10°, 15°, 20°, and 25°, muscle activity differed significantly for the gluteus medius, hamstring, and medial gastrocnemius.
02The percentage of total muscle activity differed significantly for the medial gastrocnemius across the slope conditions.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study included only healthy volunteers, so it does not show what happens in patients with muscle imbalance, weakness, or balance problems. It measured brief electrical muscle activity during a one-leg stance, not muscle strength, function, pain, or training outcomes. Only the left leg was measured. The authors state that the activity increase may reflect greater overall task difficulty rather than selective targeting of one muscle.
Declared interests
No funding or conflict-of-interest statement is provided in the supplied text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that a sloped one-leg stance selectively strengthens the medial gastrocnemius in patients. The study measured short-term electrical activity in 21 healthy volunteers and did not test training, strength, or clinical outcomes.