Muscle activation of vastus medialis obliquus and vastus lateralis during a dynamic leg press exercise with and without isometric hip adduction

2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hsien-Te Peng ◽  
Thomas W. Kernozek ◽  
Chen-Yi Song
2021 ◽  
pp. 194173812110163
Author(s):  
Isabel Martín-Fuentes ◽  
José M. Oliva-Lozano ◽  
José M. Muyor

Background: The leg press is one of the most typical exercises for strengthening the lower limbs. The objectives of this study were to compare 5 inclined leg press exercise conditions, varying the feet width stance (100% or 150% hip width), the feet rotation (0° or 45° external rotation) on the footplate and using 2 different movement velocities (MVs; maximum intended, and 2:2 seconds steady-paced velocities) to determine their effect on muscle activation as well as on the kinematic parameters between trained men and trained women. Hypotheses: There will be no significant differences in muscle activation with regard to the feet position. The higher the MV, the greater the muscle activation. Study Design: A cross-sectional cohort study. Level of Evidence: Level 3. Methods: A repeated-measures between-group design was performed to examine muscle activation and kinematic parameters for the different conditions between gender groups. The level of significance was set at alpha = 0.05 for all statistical analyses. Results: Muscle activation presented no differences between conditions regarding feet width stance or feet rotation. Furthermore, muscle activation was greater during positive phases than negative phases of the exercise for all conditions and was also greater under maximum intended velocity conditions compared with steady-paced conditions. Otherwise, the muscle activation pattern presented slight differences by gender. In men, the greatest muscle activation was for the vastus medialis, followed by the vastus lateralis (VL), rectus femoris (RF), and gluteus medialis (GMED), while in women, the greatest muscle activation was for the vastus medialis, followed by the RF, VL, and GMED. Finally, greater mean propulsive velocity, maximum velocity, maximum power, and footplate displacement values were reported for men than for women under all the conditions. Conclusion: The inclined leg press exercise produces the highest muscle activation in the vastus medialis, regardless of the velocity, feet stance, or gender. Clinical Relevance: Given that there are no differences in muscle activation regarding the feet stance, a participant’s preferred feet stance should be encouraged during the inclined leg press exercise. Furthermore, the MV would preferably depend on the session objective (a training or a rehabilitation program), being aware that there is greater muscle activation at higher speeds. The inclined leg press exercise could be performed as a closed kinetic chain exercise when the main objective is to activate the vastus medialis.


Author(s):  
Isabel Martín-Fuentes ◽  
José M. Oliva-Lozano ◽  
José M. Muyor

Knee joint muscle activation imbalances, especially weakness in the vastus medialis oblique, are related to patellofemoral pain within the female population. The available literature presents the leg press as an exercise which potentially targets vastus medialis oblique activation, thus reducing imbalances in the quadriceps muscles. The main aim of the present study was to compare thigh muscle activation and kinematic parameters under different conditions during the inclined leg press exercise in a young female population. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 10 young, trained females. Muscle activation of the vastus medialis oblique, vastus lateralis, rectus femoris and gluteus medialis was analyzed under five different inclined leg press conditions, modifying the feet rotation (0–45° external rotation) and the stance width (100–150% hip width) on the footplate. All the conditions were performed at two different movement velocities: controlled velocity (2″ eccentric–2″ concentric) and maximal intended velocity. Mean propulsive velocity, maximum velocity and maximum power were also assessed. The results show that both controlled velocity conditions and maximal intended velocity conditions elicited a similar muscle activation pattern with greater activation during the concentric phase (p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.96). The maximal intended velocity conditions showed greater overall muscle activation (p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.91). The vastus medialis oblique presented the greatest muscle activation, followed by the rectus femoris, vastus lateralis and, the gluteus medialis. Furthermore, the inclined leg press condition with 0º feet rotation, 100% hip width distance and the maximal intended velocity generated the greatest kinematic parameter outputs. In conclusion, the inclined leg press exercise might be an optimal exercise to target vastus medialis activation regardless of the feet rotation and stance width conditions.


2008 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-32
Author(s):  
Walter Albisetti ◽  
Omar De Bartolomeo ◽  
Stella Gabbiadini ◽  
Alberto Ventura ◽  
Matteo Parrini

Objective: Because of the repetitive loading of the lower limb, patellar disorders are common in athletes and performing artists. Although this condition might be ascribed to different factors, the main cause is believed to be patellar maltracking. Design: Patellar maltracking is believed to be generated by an asymmetric activation of the vastus lateralis and vastus medialis obliquus muscles. A professional ballet dancer who suffered from anterior knee pain was examined. After clinical and MRI evaluations, he was subjected to surface electromyography (sEMG) of the vastus medialis obliquus and vastus lateralis. Results: We found a difference in the latency of onset of the vastus medialis obliquus and vastus lateralis of the painful right knee as compared to the asymptomatic left knee. Conclusion: Via sEMG, we demonstrate the role of the vastus medialis in patellar maltracking. sEMG is therefore a useful method to help diagnose and guide treatment in performing artists and elite athletes.


Author(s):  
Mohamadreza Hatefi ◽  
Farideh Babakhani ◽  
Ramin Balouchi ◽  
Amir Letafatkar ◽  
Brian J. Wallace

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to compare muscle activation during the squat with different hip rotations (neutral, 15, 30, and 45° of internal and external hip rotation) in subjects with and without Genu Varum deformity deformity. Surface electromyography were recorded from 32 men with (n=16) and without (n=16) Genu Varum deformity. In the Genu Varum deformity group, the squats with 30, 45 and 15° of internal rotations of the hip showed significantly greater gluteus medius activation as compared to other positions. Moreover, the tensor fascia lata activity increased with greater external rotation of the hip, and significantly more than hip internal rotations (p<0.05). For vastus medialis and vastus lateralis, both hip internal and external rotation showed a significantly greater activation compared to the neutral hip positions (p<0.05). There were significant differences in the gluteus medius:tensor fascia lata activity ratio (p=0.001) and the vastus medialis: vastus lateralis activity ratio (p=0.001) between the different hip positions in the Genu Varum deformity and healthy groups. These results demonstrate that muscle activation patterns varied significantly with the position of different hip rotation in both groups. Those with Genu Varum deformity may use this information to aid in an injury prevention strategy by choosing squat positioning that favorably alters muscle activation patterns.


2005 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fábio Viadanna Serrão ◽  
Cristina Maria Nunes Cabral ◽  
Fausto Bérzin ◽  
Cecı́lia Candolo ◽  
Vanessa Monteiro-Pedro

Author(s):  
Isabel Martín-Fuentes ◽  
José M. Oliva-Lozano ◽  
José M. Muyor

The aim of this study was to analyze the literature on muscle activation measured by surface electromyography (sEMG) of the muscles recruited when performing the leg press exercise and its variants. The Preferred Reporting Items of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed to report this review. The search was carried out using the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science electronic databases. The articles selected met the following inclusion criteria: (a) a cross-sectional or longitudinal study design; (b) neuromuscular activation assessed during the leg press exercise, or its variants; (c) muscle activation data collected using sEMG; and (d) study samples comprising healthy and trained participants. The main findings indicate that the leg press exercise elicited the greatest sEMG activity from the quadriceps muscle complex, which was shown to be greater as the knee flexion angle increased. In conclusion, (1) the vastus lateralis and vastus medialis elicited the greatest muscle activation during the leg press exercise, followed closely by the rectus femoris; (2) the biceps femoris and the gastrocnemius medialis showed greater muscular activity as the knee reached full extension, whereas the vastus lateralis and medialis, the rectus femoris, and the tibialis anterior showed a decreasing muscular activity pattern as the knee reached full extension; (3) evidence on the influence of kinematics modifications over sEMG during leg press variants is still not compelling as very few studies match their findings.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document