Affiliations: [a] Division of Physical and Health Education, Center for General Education, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan | [b] Department of Mechanical and Electro-Mechanical Engineering, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Zong-Yan Cai, No.70, Lianhai Rd., Gushan Dist., Division of Physical and Health Education, Center for General Education, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung City 804, Taiwan. Tel.: +886 7 5252-000, ext 5872; Fax: +886 3 5255 851; E-mail: [email protected].
Abstract: BACKGROUND:Blood flow restriction (BFR) resistance exercise often elicits additive response of muscle activation. It is not clear whether local vibration (LV)-induced involuntary muscle contraction plus BFR would elicit an additive response of muscle activation. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of LV exercise with and without BFR on muscle activation. METHODS: Eight physically inactive males were randomly assigned to a sequence of LV (0.45 mm amplitude, 35 Hz sinusoid, lasting 1 min) treatments on unilateral antagonistic muscle groups, including the upper arm (biceps and triceps), the calf (gastrocnemius, GAS; tibialis anterior, TA) and the thigh (rectus femoris, RF; biceps femoris, BF), in a repeated-measures counterbalanced design, with a 5-min interval separating the treatments. The LV treatments on each of the limbs included one bout of LV and one bout of LV + BFR (inflated to 200 mmHg) in a counterbalanced order. RESULTS: Only the RF and biceps in the measured muscles showed greater electromyography (EMG) values during LV + BFR than those during LV (p< 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: LV + BFR elicits an increase in EMG amplitude in some muscles, with obviously greater values in the RF for the thigh and in the biceps for the upper limb.
Keywords: Cuff, electromyography, thigh, upper arm
