Changes in thickness of the transversus abdominis during the abdominal drawing-in manoeuvre and expiratory muscle training in elderly people

Abstract

[Purpose] It has been reported that exercises focusing upon the transversus abdominis (TrA) ameliorate low back pain (LBP). We investigated whether expiratory muscle training (EMT) can promote activity of the TrA to the same degree as the abdominal drawing-in manoeuvre (ADIM) in elderly individuals. [Subjects and Methods] Twenty-one elderly subjects (9 males, 12 females; mean age, 84.9 ± 6.6 years) without LBP symptoms were included. Using ultrasound imaging we measured changes in thickness of the lateral abdominal muscles, TrA, internal oblique muscle (IO), and external oblique muscle (EO) during ADIM and EMT. The load in EMT was set to 15% of maximal expiratory pressure. [Results] TrA showed a significant increase in muscle thickness during ADIM and EMT compared with at rest. A significant increase in muscle thickness was noted for EMT in comparison with ADIM. No significant differences were found for IO and EO. [Conclusion] In elderly people, EMT may be an effective alternative to ADIM for promoting activity of the TrA and can be used as an exercise to maintain TrA function.

Changes in morphology of the lateral abdominal wall muscles during sagittal tilting in young healthy subjects

“…This could serve as a proposal for a kind of reflex muscle stimulator. in the literature, there are confirmations for the effectiveness of active techniques and exercises that constitute powerful tools for strengthening lateral abdominal wall muscles [8,17,20,36]. Undoubtedly, they are of great clinical value.…”

“…The multitude of publications does not exhaust the subject of muscle activation comprehensively. They provide much knowledge about the general morphology of muscles and individual differences in cross-section related to sex or body type [11][12][13], highlight changes in muscle thickness and their ability to activate depending on age [14] and evidence numerous methods of activating muscles and modifications of basic exercises that increase the recruitment of trunk stabilisers [15][16][17][18][19][20]. Mew [21] reported that the greatest activation of the lateral abdominal wall muscles can be obtained in a standing position.…”