The Effects on Shoulder Stabilizer Activation of Finger Flexor Activation during the Push-up Plus Exercise

Abstract

[Purpose] We investigated the effect of the finger flexor muscles activation on the stabilizer muscle of the shoulder joint during push-up exercise using a push up grip to increase the muscle activation of the finger flexor, had a distal part. [Subjects] The subjects were 18 healthy male adults in their 20s who normal ROM and no musculoskeletal disease of the shoulder complex and the upper limbs. [Methods] The subjects performed push-ups (vertical and transverse grips, and on flat ground) three times. The muscle activity was measured three times when performing the exercise using the push-up grip (vertical and transverse grips) and on flat ground, and the mean values were used for the analysis. To prevent the effect of muscle fatigue of the shoulder stabilizer muscles, the three different exercise positions were randomly performed. [Results] The muscle activations induced under the three different conditions were compared and the results showed that there were significant differences among the wrist flexor bundle, wrist extensor bundle, biceps brachii, triceps brachii, pectoralis major, deltoid, serratus anterior muscles. [Conclusion] It is possible that finger flexor and extensor muscle activation elevated to increase stability in performing the exercise on the push-up grip as it is ales stable position than the push-up plus exercise on flat ground. We assume that the distal part muscle activation affected the muscle activation of the shoulder stabilizer, proximal part, muscles.