Prone hip extension with lower abdominal hollowing improves the relative timing of gluteus maximus activation in relation to biceps femoris

Abstract

Hamstring injuries are common. The hamstrings and gluteus maximus (GM) work as synergists during hip extension. When contraction of GM is delayed relative to Biceps Femoris (BF) the hamstrings may be predisposed to injury due to increased demand. This study investigated whether specific training affected neuromuscular control of BF and GM during Prone Hip Extension (PHE). Twenty healthy volunteers were randomly allocated to the intervention or the control group. Mean onset times for BF and GM during PHE were recorded via surface electromyography (sEMG). The intervention group performed a 10 min exercise with focus on proximal to distal muscle activation involving abdominal hollowing and active GM contraction prior to PHE. The control group undertook an exercise which included only PHE. Post exercise descriptive analysis indicated that the intervention exercise reduced the delay of GM firing relative to BF, however, when baseline differences between the two groups are taken into account as a covariant, the difference attributable to the intervention is not statistically significant (P = 0.166). The results suggest that a short duration exercise intervention has the potential to alter the timing of activation of GM relative to BF during PHE but this needs validation through future research.