The Immediate Effects of Single Leg Bridge Exercise on Abdominal Muscle Activity in Subacute Stroke Patients : a Preliminary Study

Objective: Single leg bridge exercise (SLBE) improves trunk muscle activation and provides muscle stability by aligning jointsrelated to posture. This preliminary study aimed to investigate the effects of SLBE on abdominal muscle activation in subacutestroke patients. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Fifteen subacute stroke patients (9 males, 6 females) voluntarily participated in this study. SLBE was performed on theaffected side. Each individual patient performed an SLBE ten times in three sets and was asked to hold their position for 5 s. Muscles activity was recorded using a surface electromyography (EMG) system before and after the SLBE. A surface EMGsystem was used to analyze the muscle activity during general bridge exercise, including the rectus abdominis (RA), internaloblique (IO), and external oblique (EO) abdominal muscles. Results: Muscle activity of both EO and IO on the affected side significantly increased (p<0.05), whereas the muscle activity ofthe RA and the three muscles on the unaffected side did not show a significant difference. In addition, improvement in muscleasymmetry of the EO and IO showed a significant change after SLBE (p<0.05). Conclusions: SLBE is effective in activating the abdominal muscles of stroke patients on the affected side and is a helpfulexercise intervention that activates the muscles to transform asymmetric abdominal muscles into symmetric patterns.