Abstract
Background and objectives: The maximal abdominal contraction maneuver (MACM) was designed as an effective and efficient breathing exercise to increase the stability of the spinal joint. However, it has not been determined whether MACM is more effective and efficient than the maximal expiration method. Thus, the present study was undertaken to investigate whole abdominal muscle thickness changes after MACM. Materials and Methods: Thirty healthy subjects (17 males and 13 females) participated in this study. An experimental comparison between MACM and the maximal expiration task was conducted by measuring the change of abdominal muscle thickness such as the transverse abdominis (TrA), internal oblique (IO), external oblique (EO) and rectus abdominis (RA) using ultrasound images. Results: The results indicated that MACM resulted in significantly greater muscle thickness increases of the TrA and RA than the maximal expiration exercise (p < 0.05). Conclusion: MACM provided better exercise than the maximal expiration exercise in terms of increasing spine stability, at least from a co-contraction perspective.
Highlights
The most popular method used to address spinal instability is the abdominal drawing-in maneuver (ADIM), which is commonly used in lumbar stabilization training programs [8,10]
Recent studies have shown that maximal expiration provides a useful means of inducing co-contraction of deep and superficial abdominals [5,9], and co-contraction of these abdominal muscles appears to have greater benefits than ADIM in terms of improving lumbar stabilization because all abdominal muscles contribute to core stability [9]
The current study focused on the maximal thickness of the abdominal muscles (RA, external oblique (EO), internal oblique (IO) and transverse abdominis (TrA)) according to breathing exercise
Summary
Recent studies have shown that maximal expiration provides a useful means of inducing co-contraction of deep and superficial abdominals [5,9], and co-contraction of these abdominal muscles appears to have greater benefits than ADIM in terms of improving lumbar stabilization because all abdominal muscles contribute to core stability [9]. It has suggested a combination of maximal expiration and exercise might cause greater abdominal muscle activation [3].
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