OBJECTIVE: To identify and compare the electromyographic (EMG) pattern of the main muscles of the lower limbs with bilateral support during standard and declined squats. METHODS:Eight healthy subjects were recruited (three men and five women), all right-handed and weekend athletes (means: 20.57 years; 69.5±15kg; 1.73±0.15m). Electromyographic (EMG) signals from the vastus medialis obliquus (VMO), vastus lateralis (VL), biceps femoris (BF), soleus (SO), tibialis anterior (TA) and erector spinae (ES) muscles were recorded during the ascending (70º-0º) and descending (0º-70º) phases of the standard squat (horizontal plane) and declined squat (at 25º). The integral of the EMG activity for each muscle was calculated over an interval between 300 ms before the start of the movement and its end. The mean for each muscle for each subject was analyzed using analysis of variance for repeated measurements (ANOVA) to investigate the effect of the squatting task. RESULTS: Qualitative analysis revealed that the muscle activity patterns during standard and declined squats were similar, and quantitative analysis did not reveal any differences in EMG activity. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrated that the EMG activity of the muscles studied was similar in these tasks.
electromyography; knee joint; motor activity; exercise therapy
