Electromyographic Analysis of Specific Exercises for Scapular Control in Early Phases of Shoulder Rehabilitation

Abstract

These exercises can be used as part of a comprehensive rehabilitation program for restoration of shoulder function. They activate the serratus anterior and lower trapezius-key muscles in dynamic shoulder control-while variably activating the upper trapezius. Activation patterns depended on scapular position resulting in variability of amplitude and activation sequencing between exercises. Inferior glide and low row can be performed early in rehabilitation because of their limited range of motion, while lawnmower and robbery, which require larger movements, can be instituted later in the sequence.

Three-Dimensional Scapular and Clavicular Kinematics and Scapular Muscle Activity During Retraction Exercises

“…14,18,19 Therefore, it is important that these exercises are performed pain free by adjusting humeral elevation angle and resistance. On the other hand, previous studies 30,38 have reported no difference in muscle activity between symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals during performance of the therapeutic exercises. Therefore, retraction exercises may still be viable to potentially improve scapular movements in patients, although further investigation is required to demonstrate this effect.…”

“…The upper, middle, and lower trapezius and serratus anterior muscles highly influence the scapular movement through its broad attachments. 3,5,8,10,11,23,30,37,38,46 These muscles are also located superficially, allowing examination of the muscle activity using surface EMG electrodes.…”

“…12,30,36,39,56,61 Therefore, rehabilitation exercises that target activation of the scapular muscles have been evaluated using electromyography (EMG) in a number of studies. 8,10,11,13,20,22,30,34,35,38,41,47,50 While these previous studies provided useful information regarding the muscles being activated during various exercises, they did not document the associated scapular kinematics. Measurement of the scapular and clavicular movement, along with muscle activity during exercises, will provide additional information clinicians can use to select exercises based on their patient's needs.…”

Baseline Adaptive Wavelet Thresholding Technique for sEMG Denoising

“…Surface Electromyography (sEMG) provides a safe, easy and non-invasive method to quantify the energy of the muscles [1]: for these reasons sEMG is currently becoming more and more a powerful tool for the assessment in sport [2], [3], rehabilitation [4], [5], ergonomic design [6], [7], and medical robotics [8].…”

Isometric Contraction of Scapular Muscles Activities during Horizontal Abduction and Adduction of the Shoulder

“…The target muscles were the pectoralis major and posterior deltoid, as the GHJ muscles, and the middle and lower trapezius and serratus anterior, as the STJ muscles on the dominant side. The EMG electrode position was set according to previous studies by Basmajian et al [19] and Kibler et al [20] .…”