TITLE:
Conventional kinesiotherapy or Pilates mat exercises, what is more efficient for abdominal weakness? A feasibility study
AUTHORS:
Renan Lima Monteiro, Laio Braga de Oliveira, Luiz Armando Vidal Ramos, Mauricio Oliveira Magalhães, Marília Maniglia de Resende, Bianca Callegari
KEYWORDS:
Rectus Abdominis; Pilates Mat Exercise; Surface Electromyography
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Biomedical Science and Engineering,
Vol.6 No.12,
December
20,
2013
ABSTRACT:
The
aim of this feasibility study was to contrast rectus abdominis (RA) muscle
strength and electrical activity after two abdominal training protocols, conventional
kinesiotherapy (CK) and Pilates mat exercises (PME). 13 participants
were randomized to one of two groups: CK and PME, and were trained accordingly.
The upper rectus abdominis
(URA) and lower rectus abdominis (LRA) were independently examined and intra-group
and inter-group comparison were done. Findings demonstrate a significant increase
in RA strength after both protocols, relative to baseline. Significantly
increased electrical activation was seen in the URA after CK. Training with
PME, although as efficient as CK in strength improvement, produced decreased
activation level of muscles. CK training induced an opposite result. The
differences after training suggest that CK and PME training programmers may
strength RA, but the neuromuscular activation strategies for that are not the
same. PME can be incorporated into protocols to improve abdominals strength,
and trunk stabilization.