Effect of external and internal cues on core muscle activation during the Sahrmann five-level core stability test

Figure 1 Electromyography surface electrode placement. (A: External oblique, B: Rectus abdominis, and C: Transverse abdominis/internal oblique).

Figure 2  The pressure biofeedback unit placement between L4/L5 segments for external cue group.

Figure 3  Examples of the step-by-step progression of each of the five exercise levels.

Figure 4 Shows the changes of the muscle activation with external and internal cues on transverse abdominis/internal oblique, rectus abdominis and external oblique muscles. Transverse abdominis/internal oblique, rectus abdominis and external oblique muscles showed similar muscle activations during each level exercise, there was no statistically significant muscle X level interactions. A: Effects of external and internal cue on muscle activation of transverse abdominis/internal oblique muscles; B: Effects of external and internal cue on muscle activation of rectus abdominis muscle; C: Effects of external and internal cue on muscle activation of external oblique muscle.