Effect of LBP on Muscle Activity of Lower Back and Upper Extremity While Aerobic Cycling -- An sEMG Based Study

Surface electromyography (sEMG) has been extensively used to study dynamic exercises. However use of this technique to understand muscle activity during aerobic-cycling exercises has not been fully addressed. In this study, we determined muscle fatigue in aerobic cyclists with and without low back pain (LBP) using bilateral sEMG. sEMG was acquired from biceps brachii medial, trapezius medial, latissimus dorsi medial, and erector spinae muscles bilaterally. Two groups of five male volunteers each with and without LBP participated in this study. sEMG was recorded bilaterally from selected muscle groups for 30 minutes while the subject cycled. Collected sEMG signals were filtered using Butterworth filter with a pass band of 20--400 Hz and stop band of 47--49 Hz. Statistical tests were performed to determine the difference in fatigue, using mean power frequency (MPF) difference. From the results, it is evident that there would not be any significant muscle fatigue for both groups; while they use aerobic cycling in fitness and rehabilitation centers.