Abstract
Muscular imbalances of the trunk muscles are held responsible for changes in body posture. At the same time, whole-body electromyostimulation (WB-EMS) has been established as a new training method that enables simultaneous stimulation of many muscle groups. This study was aiming to analyze if a 10 weeks WB-EMS training changes posture-relevant parameters and/or improves isometric strength of the trunk extensors and flexors, and if there are differences based on stimulation at 20 Hz and 85 Hz. Fifty eight untrained adult test persons were divided into three groups (control, CON; training with 20 Hz stimulation, TR20; training with 85 Hz, TR85). Anthropometric parameters, trunk extension and flexion forces and torques, and posture parameters were determined before (n = 58) and after (n = 53: CON: n = 15, TR20: n = 19, TR85: n = 19) a 10 weeks WB-EMS training program (15 applications, 9 exercises). Differences between the groups were calculated for pre- and post-tests using univariate ANOVA and between the test times using repeated (2 × 3) ANOVA. Comparisons of pairs were calculated post hoc based on Fisher (LSD). No differences between the groups were found for the posture parameters. The post hoc analysis of both trunk flexion and trunk extension forces and torques showed a significant difference between the groups TR85 and CON but no difference between the other group pairs. A 10 weeks whole-body electrostimulation training with a stimulation frequency of 85 Hz in contrast to training with a stimulation frequency of 20 Hz improves the trunk muscle strength of an untrained group but does not significantly change posture parameters.
Highlights
Body posture is based on the interaction of muscles, tendons, and bones
The upper body anteversion decreased over time, but for all groups including the control group with no significant differences between the groups (TR85 vs. CON: p = 0.14, TR85 vs. TR20: p = 0.96; TR20 vs. CON: p = 0.16)
The post hoc analysis showed a significant difference between the groups TR85 and CON (p = 0.02)
Summary
Body posture is based on the interaction of muscles, tendons, and bones. Changes of the habitual posture develop as the body adapts to routine daily postures (Harrison et al, 1999; Prins et al, 2008; Claus et al, 2009; Roussouly and Pinheiro-Franco, 2011; DrzalGrabiec and Snela, 2012; Jung et al, 2016). It is assumed that permanent poor posture in WB-EMS and Posture daily routines leads to muscular and articular overload, which in turn results in physical problems (Bruno et al, 2012; Araujo et al, 2017; Jentzsch et al, 2017). Posture issues such as hyperlordosis and a hunched back are considered to be the reasons for back problems (Jentzsch et al, 2017; Murray et al, 2017). Physical therapy to correct poor posture starts with practicing targeted muscle activation and improving muscular strength, joint flexibility, as well as body perception (Pope et al, 1985; Calvo-Muñoz et al, 2012; Laird et al, 2014; BarczykPawelec et al, 2015; Kim et al, 2015; Szczygiel et al, 2018)
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