Exercise Type, Elbow Angle Effects During the Push-up Plus
Exercise Type, Elbow Angle Effects During the Push-up Plus
This current study demonstrated that traditional PUP resulted in increased EMG activity of the LT, SA, UT and INF compared to the modified PUP during the concentric phase. The highest activity of the serratus anterior occurred at 55° of elbow extension during the concentric phase of the traditional PUP. This suggests that the plus phase of the PUP is not necessary to attain greater activity of the SA when performing traditional PUP. However, during the modified PUP, the highest activity of the SA occurred at the plus-phase. Additionally, the traditional PUP resulted in increased vGRF in the entire elbow ROM during the concentric phase of the exercise compared to modified PUP. These results can be helpful in clinical application when prescribing PUP exercises to patients with shoulder pathology (i.e. subacromial impingement syndrome). However, care should be taken when considering these exercises for patient population, since the current study utilized healthy subjects. It should be noted that progression is important when recommending PUP variants. It is beneficial to start with the modified PUP variant earlier in the shoulder rehabilitation phase since it demands lesser internal torque in the upper extremity.
Conclusion
This current study demonstrated that traditional PUP resulted in increased EMG activity of the LT, SA, UT and INF compared to the modified PUP during the concentric phase. The highest activity of the serratus anterior occurred at 55° of elbow extension during the concentric phase of the traditional PUP. This suggests that the plus phase of the PUP is not necessary to attain greater activity of the SA when performing traditional PUP. However, during the modified PUP, the highest activity of the SA occurred at the plus-phase. Additionally, the traditional PUP resulted in increased vGRF in the entire elbow ROM during the concentric phase of the exercise compared to modified PUP. These results can be helpful in clinical application when prescribing PUP exercises to patients with shoulder pathology (i.e. subacromial impingement syndrome). However, care should be taken when considering these exercises for patient population, since the current study utilized healthy subjects. It should be noted that progression is important when recommending PUP variants. It is beneficial to start with the modified PUP variant earlier in the shoulder rehabilitation phase since it demands lesser internal torque in the upper extremity.