Investigation of Muscular Activation Levels Around the Scapula and Shoulder in Exercises Which Body Weight is Carried on the Arms

Closed kinetic chain (CKC) exercises are exercises in which body weight is carried on the distal segment. It is considered advantageous and reliable in many respects compared to open kinetic chain exercises (OKC). For the restoration of functional stability in shoulder rehabilitation, it is recommended to use CKC exercises that carry body weight from the early period. Plank exercise, which is frequently used to strengthen the core area in rehabilitation programs, is performed by transferring weight on the upper extremity. For this reason, it is thought that this exercise will provide an isometric load on the shoulder and scapula muscles. In many previous studies, it has been observed that scapular muscle activations also change with the changes in stability (support surface properties, etc.) in plank exercises and variations in a way that provides a more stable exercise environment. However, as the difficulty level of the used moving floor increased (using softer or unstable surfaces), it was seen that the increase in muscle activation levels was more in favor of the upper trapezius muscle (UT). In a study, it was observed that the UT / Middle Trapeze (MT), UT / Lower Trapezius (LT), UT / Serratus Anterior (SA) ratios were lower in the 3-point supported plank exercise performed on one hand. For this reason, it is thought that while the difficulty level of plank variations is increased in shoulder rehabilitation, body position changes will be more effective in maintaining optimal scapular muscle activation rates instead of using a moving floor. Based on this information, investigating the muscular activation levels for the scapular and shoulder girdle muscles during different variations of the plank exercise in terms of load levels in the targeted muscles will provide valuable information for the management of shoulder exercise programs and post-operative rehabilitation.

It was planned to include 21 healthy physically active individuals between the ages of 18-45 in the study. Muscle activation levels during maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) of each muscle will be recorded to normalize muscle activation levels during plank variations. Muscle activation levels will be evaluated with a surface electromyography device (Noraxon, Myomotion, USA).