Thera-Band application changes muscle activity and kyphosis and scapular winging during knee push-up plus in subjects with scapular winging

Abstract

Scapular winging (SW) is defined as increased prominence of the whole medial border of the scapula. Many researchers recently recommended knee push-up plus (KPP) for enhancing serratus anterior (SA) activation. However, during push-up plus, thoracic kyphosis (TK) may usually occur as a compensatory movement. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Thera-Band application during KPP on rectus abdominis (RA) activity, TK angle (TKA), SA activity, and amount of SW in subjects with SW.Fifteen subjects performed KPP with Thera-Band applied to different posterior body parts (no Thera-Band, in the occiput, and in the thoracic region). Electromyography was used to record the RA and SA activities. Image J software was used to calculate the compensatory TKA during KPP, and a scapulometer was used to measure SW in the quadruped position. One-way repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to test for significance.KPP with Thera-Band in the occiput showed significantly lower RA activity (P = .001) and TKA (P < .001) than KPP with no Thera-Band. SA activity (P = .020, P = .047) and SW (P < .001, P < .001) were significantly lower with Thera-Band applied to the occiput and thoracic regions than in KPP with no Thera-Band.Thera-Band applied to the occiput and thorax can be beneficial as it decreases RA and SA muscle activity and reduces TKA and SW during KPP in subjects with SW.

Physical Therapy for Esophageal Cancer Patient With Long Thoracic Neuropathy After Esophagectomy: A Case Report

“…The long thoracic nerve characteristically arises from 5th to 7th cervical nerve root [23]. The serratus anterior muscle weakness is innervated by the long thoracic nerve, which is important in controlling and maintaining normal scapulohumeral rhythm [24]. During the shoulder flexion, the serratus anterior muscle assists in the upward rotation and keeps the scapula to the thorax [25,26].…”

Immediate Effects of Flexi-bar Exercise With Knee Push-up Plus on Shoulder Joint Position Sense and Muscle Activity in Subjects With Scapular Winging

“…Individuals were considered eligible if they had scapular winging which was measured by using a scapulometer. If the medial border of the scapula protruded by a distance ≥ 2 cm from the posterior thoracic rib cage in a quadruped position, the scapula was considered to have winging [9]. The scapulometer was positioned on the T5 spinous process and measurement was performed between the scapular medial border and spinous process.…”

“…The experimental protocol was approved by the Yonsei University Mirae Campus Institutional Review Board (approval number 1041849-202104-BM-061-02). Inc, Scottsdale, AZ, USA) was used [9]. EMG data were sampled at 1,500 Hz, overall gain of 500, CMRR >100 dB, and input impedance >100 Mohm.…”

“…RMS were enveloped with window size of 200 milliseconds before being recorded. After shaving the hair and scrubbing the skin with alcohol, the principal investigator (PI) attached disposable Ag/AgCl surface electrodes on the subject's muscle belly [9]. The electrodes were positioned over the midsection of the subject's muscle belly parallel to the target muscle fibers on the greater winging side.…”

“…Of these exercises, the push-up plus elicits the highest average electromyography (EMG) activity of the SA, and the lowest EMG activity of the upper trapezius (UT) compared to other SA exercises such as wall slide, scaption and dynamic hug [7,8]. Especially, several studies have suggested the knee push-up plus (KPP) for individuals in the early rehabilitation because KPP limits the amount of weight bearing and demonstrates higher SA activity compared to the standard push-up plus [6,9]. In addition, as a closed kinetic exercise, the KPP exercise can be beneficial for dynamic stawww.ptkorea.org Flexi-bar Prior to Knee Push-up Plus Versus Knee Push-up Plus bilization and stimulating proprioception in the shoulder complex [6,10,11].…”