Impact of Medicine Ball Training on Amplitude of Electromyography Activity in Back Pain Patients During Gait

Background: This research aimed to assess the effect of medicine ball exercise on the amplitude of electromyography activity in back pain patients while walking. Methods: Twenty back pain patients participated in this research. The participants were divided into two intervention (age: 26.4±2.00 years) and control (age: 28.8±2.0 years) groups. The intervention involved training with medicine ball. The Roland Morris questionnaire was employed to measure the pain index. In addition, the participants walked at self-selected gait speed along an 18-m level walkway. During walking, muscle activities of the following muscles were recorded: gastrocnemius lateral (GAS-L), biceps femoris (BF), Semimembranosus muscle (SM), gluteus medius (GM), Erector spinae right (ES-R), Erector spinae left (ES-L), Internal abdominal oblique (IA-O) and External abdominal oblique (EA-O). Results: Significant main effects of "Time" for disability index were observed (P<001). Also, significantly lower disability index was observed after exercise with medicine ball compared with pre-intervention. Significant main effects of "Time" for BF (P<001, ƞ2=0.532) and ES-R (P<001, ƞ2=0.449) muscles activities during midstance phase were also found. The findings demonstrated lower BF activities after exercise with medicine ball compared to before it. Finally, greater ES-R activities post-exercise were observed with medicine ball compared with before it. Conclusion: This study revealed that exercise with medicine ball improved disability index and muscle activities in individuals with back pain while walking.