EMG activity of upper limb on spinal cord injury individuals during whole-body vibration

Abstract

Whole-body vibration (WBV) has shown positive results increasing electromyographic (EMG) activity and strength in a healthy population when applied to upper and lower limbs. The aim of this study was to verify if WBV increases the EMG signal of the upper limb muscles in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). For this study, 15 patients with SCI were selected and one single session of WBV was applied to the upper limb. Five sessions of 30 s at 30 Hz were applied and EMG of anterior deltoid and forearm muscles was measured. The results show that EMG activity had a significant increase during WBV session compared with baseline muscle activity. These results support WBV as an efficient tool to increase the upper body EMG in individuals with SCI.