Abstract
The purposes of this study were to characterize the activity levels of thigh muscles during 12 patterns of PNF techniques of lower extremity and to determine the optimal patterns for each muscle. Nineteen volunteered healthy adults (6 men and 13 women, with the mean age of 23.4±4.8years) who have been understood the PNF patterns were involved in this study. Surface electromyography (Furusawa Labo) was performed and recorded by bipolar miniature silver-silver chloride electrodes, rectified filtered electromyograms (REFMG) obtained. Each PNF pattern was examined with maximum isometric contraction against the manual resistance in the middle range of each pattern. Normalized data (xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxRFEMG) were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance and Tukey's multiple comparison. From the results obtained, it was revealed that the optimal patterns for VMO are the hip flexion, adduction, and external rotation with the knee extension or extending the knee, and hip extension, abduction, and internal rotation with the knee extension or extending the knee. The hip flexion, adduction, and external rotation with the extension or extending the knee patterns for VL and the patterns involving the hip flexion without relation with knee component for RF are optimal. Meanwhile, the hip extension component with knee extension or flexing the knee pattern is optimum for Hamstrings.
