Ecemıs Zeynep Berfu, Cobanoglu Gamze, Oksuz Burcu Sena, Kaya Betul, Guzel Nevin A, Kafa Baris, Kafa Nihan
Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Health Sciences, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey.
Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Gulhane Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
J Sport Rehabil. 2024 Dec 10;34(4):436-442. doi: 10.1123/jsr.2023-0404. Print 2025 May 1.
In shoulder rehabilitation, exercises that reduce upper trapezius (UT) activity and optimize the trapezius muscle activation rate reduce the symptoms of shoulder pathologies. One such exercise, the lawn-mower (LM) exercise, is frequently used in scapular rehabilitation protocols due to its multijoint, multiplanar, and kinetic chain-based nature. Design/Objective: This study aimed to compare trapezius muscle activation levels and ratios during the LM exercise in standing and quadruped positions through a randomized controlled trial.
Eighteen healthy volunteers (mean age [SD] = 25 [5] y, 10 women and 8 men, mean body mass index [SD] = 22.91 [2.59] kg/m2) participated in the study, and surface electromyography was employed to measure trapezius muscle activity during quadruped LM (QLM) and standing LM (SLM) exercises. The data were normalized as a percentage of maximal voluntary contraction.
The study revealed significantly lower UT activity (percentage of maximal voluntary contraction) during QLM compared with SLM (P < .05) in concentric and isometric phases. Conversely, QLM exhibited significantly higher activation of the middle trapezius (MT) and lower trapezius (LT) in all phases when compared with SLM (P < .05). UT/MT and UT/LT ratios were also significantly lower in all QLM phases compared with SLM (P < .05).
Study findings suggest that quadruped exercises reduce UT activation while promoting more balanced MT and LT muscle activation. This balance is essential for shoulder rehabilitation, especially in cases requiring minimal UT activation and maximal MT and LT activation. In cases where a balanced trapezius muscle activation pattern is required, including QLM exercises rather than SLM exercises may be more efficient.
在肩部康复中，能够降低上斜方肌（UT）活动并优化斜方肌激活率的运动可减轻肩部病变的症状。其中一种运动，即割草机（LM）运动，因其多关节、多平面以及基于动力链的特性，常用于肩胛康复方案中。设计/目的：本研究旨在通过随机对照试验比较站立位和四足位进行LM运动时斜方肌的激活水平和比率。
18名健康志愿者（平均年龄[标准差]=25[5]岁，10名女性和8名男性，平均体重指数[标准差]=22.91[2.59]kg/m²）参与了该研究，并采用表面肌电图来测量四足位LM（QLM）和站立位LM（SLM）运动过程中斜方肌的活动。数据以最大自主收缩的百分比进行标准化。
研究显示，在向心和等长阶段，与SLM相比，QLM期间UT活动（最大自主收缩百分比）显著降低（P<.05）。相反，与SLM相比，QLM在所有阶段中斜方肌（MT）和下斜方肌（LT）的激活均显著更高（P<.05）。与SLM相比，所有QLM阶段的UT/MT和UT/LT比率也显著更低（P<.05）。
研究结果表明，四足位运动可降低UT的激活，同时促进MT和LT肌肉更平衡的激活。这种平衡对于肩部康复至关重要，尤其是在需要最小化UT激活以及最大化MT和LT激活的情况下。在需要平衡斜方肌激活模式的情况下，纳入QLM运动而非SLM运动可能更有效。
