Core muscle function during specific yoga poses.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the potential use of 11 yoga poses in specific training and rehabilitation programs via examination of the muscle activation patterns in selected trunk and hip muscles.


DESIGN
Repeated-measures descriptive study.


SETTING
University laboratory, US.


PARTICIPANTS
Thirty healthy yoga practitioners with more than 3 months yoga practice experience (mean age±SD, 32.0±12.3 y; 8 M/22 F) participated.


INTERVENTIONS
Surface electromyographic signals of upper rectus abdominis, lower rectus abdominis, longissimus thoracis, external oblique abdominis and gluteus maximum muscle were recorded in 11 yoga poses: Halfway lift, Forward fold, Downward facing dog, Upward facing dog, High plank, Low plank, Chair, Mountain with arms down, Mountain with arms up, Warrior 1 (both sides).


MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Root mean square values of each muscle during each pose, normalized by the maximal voluntary contraction.


RESULTS
There were significant main effects of pose (p<.001) and muscle (p<.001), and a significant pose×muscle interaction (p=.001). The post hoc analysis revealed unique patterns for the five muscles of interest for each of the 11 poses (p<.024).


CONCLUSIONS
Variations in core muscle firing patterns depend on the trunk and pelvic positions during these poses. Training programs can be developed by choosing particular poses to target specific core muscles for addressing low back pain and declines in performance. The High plank, Low plank and Downward facing dog poses are effective for strengthening external oblique abdominis, Chair and Warrior 1 poses for targeting gluteus maximum, and Chair and Halfway lift poses for strengthening longissimus thoracis. And these three muscles could be strengthened by the Upward facing dog pose.
['Ni|Meng|M|', 'Mooney|Kiersten|K|', 'Harriell|Kysha|K|', 'Balachandran|Anoop|A|', 'Signorile|Joseph|J|']
D000328:Adult D004576:Electromyography D005260:Female D005431:Florida D006801:Humans D008297:Male D018482:Muscle, Skeletal D011187:Posture D015013:Yoga D055815:Young Adult
Yoga Rehabilitation Electromyography