Comparison of the Upper and Lower Trapezius and Serratus Anterior during Push-up Plus Exercise with and without an Elastic Shoulder Band

PURPOSE: Scapular stability is very important to arm function during activities of daily living. The push-up plus exercise is commonly used to stabilize the shoulder muscles. In the present study, we designed an elastic shoulder band (ESB) that could be used with the push-up plus exercise and studied muscle activities of the serratus anterior (SA) and the lower and the upper trapezius (LT and UT) on stable and unstable support. METHODS: Fifteen healthy people participated in this study. Three muscles were investigated using surface EMG with and without the ESB on stable and unstable support. All subjects performed each trial three times for 7 seconds per set and rested for 30 seconds. Repeated one-way ANOVA was used for statistical analyses. RESULTS: The EMG activity of the SA was significantly different during the push-up plus exercise on stable support with the ESB compared with that on unstable support without