Effect of Suspension Exercise on Electromyography in Men with Chronic Low Back Pain Caused by Disc Herniation

Lumbar disc herniation is one of the most common types of low back pain and researchers are interested in novel exercises in treatment of this condition. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of suspension exercises on electromyography in men with disc herniation.

Twenty two men with disc herniation in Rasht participated in this clinical trial in 2020 and were randomly divided into two groups of suspension exercises (n=12, age: 34.25±8.81, BMI: 24.02±01.7) and control (n=10, age: 34.4±6.67, BMI: 23.1±76.45). Before and after an intervention period, the electrical activity of rectus abdominis, internal and external oblique and erector spinae muscles were measured by electromyography and abdominal muscle strength was investigated using straight leg raising test. The intervention period consisted of 8 weeks of suspension exercises, while the control group was only followed up. Paired sample t-test and analysis of covariance were used for intragroup and intergroup comparisons, respectively.

Electromyography of four muscles and strength test showed significant improvements in post-test compared to pre-test in intervention group (P<0.05) while no significant change was observed in control group (P˃0.05). Patients who did suspension exercises were found with significant improvements in muscle electromyography compared to the control group (P<0.05), but no significant difference was observed in abdominal muscle strength test (P˃0.05).

In current study, suspension exercise improved core muscle activation and abdominal muscle strength, so, it could be considered in rehabilitation of low back pain caused by disc herniation.