Date of Award

5-2020

Document Type

Scholarly Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)

Department

Physical Therapy

First Advisor

Thomas Mohr

Keywords

Electromyography, Study

Abstract

Introduction. The purpose of this study is to record electrical activity (electromyographic or EMG) from the serratus anterior during three different commonly applied methods to determine which method produces the most EMG activity.

Methods. Eleven male subjects voluntarily participated in the experiment. All of the subjects were healthy, active college students with no prior history of shoulder or scapular injuries. EMG was tested on right serratus anterior parallel to muscle fibers. MVC was taken in 3 different testing positions to compare EMG during a push up with a plus.

Outcomes. There were significant findings following the tests and data analysis. In all subjects, the Test 2 MVC produced the most microvolts from the serratus anterior on the EMG reading. In order to standardize the results, the EMG reading for each test position was compared with the EMG activity from the subject's push up with a plus. A percentage was determined to compare these two values. The results of this comparison demonstrated that Test 2 consistently produced greater activation of the serratus anterior than the push up plus in all subjects.

Discussion. There are no other current studies of this kind looking at the electrical activity of the serratus anterior during three commonly applied methods to test serratus anterior strength. Future studies should include both male and female participants with a larger sample size and determination of dominant arm.

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