Electromyographic Analysis of Various Hip Exercises in Normal Subjects

Paper presented to the 7th Annual Symposium on Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects (GRASP) held at the Marcus Welcome Center, Wichita State University, May 4, 2011.Research completed at the Department of Physical TherapyThe goal was to compare electromyography (EMG) activity of the gluteus medius muscle during 5 weight bearing exercises. Our subjects consisted of 30 healthy volunteers (mean age 24.30 years, height 173.31 cm, weight 71.67 kg). Subjects performed a dynamic warm-up, followed by collection of gluteus medius EMG muscle activity while performing 3 trials of each of 5 exercises (randomized), with 30 seconds rest between exercises. Subjects performed all exercises in a single session. The EMG activity during exercise was compared to the MVIC (maximum voluntary isometric contraction) to give a percent MVIC for each exercise. The results of our study can be used by physical therapists to determine which exercise(s) would be most beneficial for strengthening of the gluteus medius