Differential activation of parts of the serratus anterior muscle during push-up

variations on stable and unstable bases of support

Se-yeon Park
a
, Won-gyu Yoo
b,
a
Department of Physical Therapy, The Graduate School, Inje University, Republic of Korea
b
Department of Physical Therapy, College of Biomedical Science and Engineering, Inje University, 607 Obang-dong, Gimhae, Gyeongsangnam-do 621-749, Republic of Korea
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 22 February 2011
Received in revised form 18 May 2011
Accepted 5 July 2011
Keywords:
Electromyography
Labile surface
SA
Scapulothoracic musculature
Selective activation
a b s t r a c t
No studies have examined the effects of an unstable surface on push-up and push-up plus exercises in
terms of the two parts of the serratus anterior muscle. We hypothesized that the lower part of the ser-
ratus anterior would have greater activity with an unstable surface, which requires stabilizing the scap-
ular position. The present study was performed to investigate the intramuscular differences between
parts of the serratus anterior muscle during push-up and push-up plus exercises. Twelve healthy subjects
were included in the study. The upper and lower parts of the serratus anterior and upper and lower parts
of the trapezius were investigated by surface EMG during four types of exercise. Repeated one-way
ANOVA was used for statistical analyses. Maintaining the push-up plus phase caused signicant increases
in EMG activity of the upper serratus anterior compared with the push-up ascending phase on both of
stable and unstable bases (P < 0.05). The lower serratus anterior showed increased activation on an unsta-
ble surface, which required more joint stability than did the stable base. Upper trapezius/upper serratus
anterior ratio was signicantly lower in the PUP than in the PUA phase with both stable and unstable
bases of support (P < 0.05).
Further studies are required to investigate the intramuscular variation in activation of the serratus
anterior during exercises for rehabilitation.
2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
Shoulder discomfort is one of the most common types of clinical
musculoskeletal problem (Ludewig and Reynolds, 2009; Kibler,
1998). Issues such as impingement and rotator cuff tears result
in abnormal shoulder kinematics, leading to glenohumeral joint
instability and a reduction in volume of the subacromial space (Ki-
bler, 1998; Mottram, 1997). Several groups have reported that
abnormal scapulothoracic motions are closely associated with
abnormal shoulder kinematics, and thus retraining of the scapulo-
thoracic musculature is essential to provide stability for the shoul-
der girdle and functional shoulder movement (Ludewig and
Reynolds, 2009; Mottram, 1997; Kiss et al., 2010). Among the mus-
cles attached to the scapula, the serratus anterior has a critical role
in stabilizing the medial border of the scapula against the thorax
and providing dynamic stability to scapulothoracic motion (Neu-
mann, 2002; Lear and Gross, 1998). Impairment of the serratus
anterior may result in abnormal scapular kinematics and lead to
shoulder impingement syndrome (Ludewig and Cook, 2000).
Therefore, various exercise programs that specically activate the
serratus anterior have been suggested in the literature (Kiss
et al., 2010; Neumann, 2002).
In previous electromyographic studies investigating the effects
of rehabilitation exercise for the proximal shoulder complex, an
electrode was generally placed on the serratus anterior just below
the axillary area at the level of the 5th rib without overlapping the
latissimus dorsi (Cram et al., 1998; Decker et al., 1999; Lehman
et al., 2008). In other studies, electrodes for serratus anterior were
placed on the lateral thoracic cage at the level of the 6th through
8th ribs (Hardwick et al., 2006; Ekstrom et al., 2005). Inman
et al. (1944) studied the four intramuscular parts of the serratus
anterior according to their anatomical divisions (5th8th), and
suggested that the lower trapezius and lower serratus anterior
have a stabilizing effect on the inferior angle of the scapula with
a force-coupled mechanism. However, activation of specic parts
of the serratus anterior is difcult in clinical practice. In a recent
study, only four of seven participants succeeded in activating the
lower bers of the serratus anterior with visual biofeedback
(Holtermann et al., 2010).
In the task of arm elevation and overhead work as well as in the
neutral scapular posture, stabilization and movement of the scap-
ula were not only highly associated with serratus anterior activa-
tion but also with trapezius musculature (Ludewig and Reynolds,
1050-6411/$ - see front matter 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jelekin.2011.07.001

Corresponding author. Tel.: +82 55 320 3994; fax: +82 55 329 1678.
E-mail address: won7y@inje.ac.kr (W.-g. Yoo).
Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology 21 (2011) 861867
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology
j our nal homepage: www. el sevi er . com/ l ocat e/ j el eki n
2009; Wegner et al., 2010). However, altered activation of upper
and middle trapezius was more easily shown in symptomatic pop-
ulations than in asymptomatic ones (Tucker et al., 2010; Wegner
et al., 2010). According to previous work, low bers of the trapezius
that originated from the T6 to T12 spinal processes to the spine of
the scapula (Kendall et al., 2005) contributed to posterior tilt and
external rotation of the scapula during arm elevation, decreasing
subacromial impingement risk. Therefore, therapeutic exercise
for shoulder rehabilitation was performed to minimize upper tra-
pezius activity while selectively increasing activation of the lower
trapezius and serratus anterior (Ludewig et al., 2004; Maenhout
et al., 2010; Arlotta et al., 2010). Some of previous researchers rep-
resented effect of exercises for activating serratus anterior selec-
tively as the ratio between the upper trapezius and serratus
anterior (Ludewig et al., 2004; Maenhout et al., 2010).
Push-up plus involves posterior translation of the thorax on rel-
atively xed scapulas, which can be done alone or along with
push-ups (Hardwick et al., 2006). Ludewig et al. (2004) suggested
that the serratus anterior was selectively activated to a greater ex-
tent in push-up plus than in standard push-ups. An unstable surface
is oftenusedinclinical settings toincrease activationof the proximal
musculature by requiring control of the center of mass andstimulat-
ing proprioceptive joint receptors. Indeed, the advantages of an
unstable surface are already investigated with training of the axial
musculature in push up variations (Beach et al., 2008; Freeman
et al., 2006). However, this advantage of an unstable surface in exer-
cise of the proximal shoulder complex, especially in the scapulotho-
racic musculature, has been uncertain (Lehman et al., 2008; de
Oliveira et al., 2008). Lehman et al. (2008) suggested that scapulo-
thoracic musculature would be inuenced by increasing the load
of the exercises rather than by changes in the surfaces during the
push-up and push-up plus. Although various electromyographic
studies have been conducted to investigate the effectiveness of
push-up and push-up plus exercises on scapulothoracic muscula-
ture, placements of the electrode differed fromone another, making
it difcult to determine the effect of the exercises. In addition, there
have beenno studies to date regarding the effects of anunstable sur-
face on push-up and push-up plus exercises considering the two
parts of the serratus anterior.
We hypothesized that the lower part of the serratus anterior
wouldhave greater activity withanunstable surface due to the need
to stabilize the scapular position. The present study was performed
investigate the intramuscular differences between parts of the ser-
ratus anterior muscle during push-up and push-up plus exercises.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Subjects
Fourteen male volunteers with a mean SD age of
24.6 2.2 years participated in this study. Subjects with a history
of upper extremity pain or discomfort in the past 6 months were
excluded from the study. For consistency, all subjects were right-
hand dominant. Two of the participants were excluded from study
as they were unable to perform push-ups with an unstable board.
Therefore, the nal study sample consisted of 12 subjects with a
mean SD age of 24.6 2.4 years, height of 176.3 4.5 cm, and
weight of 69.2 5.9 kg. All participants gave their informed, writ-
ten consent according to the protocol approved by Inje University
Faculty of Health Science Human Ethics Committee.
2.2. Electromyography
Surface EMG was used to collect the raw EMG data using a Trig-
no wireless system (Delsys, Boston, MA, USA). The signals were
amplied and band-pass ltered (20450 Hz) before being digi-
tally recorded at 2000 samples/s, and the root mean square
(RMS) was then calculated. Four surface electrodes (Trigno sen-
sors; Delsys) were placed on the following muscles on the domi-
nant (right) side: upper serratus anterior, at approximately the
mid-axillary line of the right side over the 5th rib; lower serratus
anterior, placed on the belly of the muscle branched to the 7th
rib; upper trapezius, at approximately half the distance between
the 7th cervical spinal process and acromion; and lower trapezius,
at 1.5 cm lateral and obliquely to the T6 spinal process (Lehman
et al., 2008; Holtermann et al., 2010). The skin was prepared before
attaching the electrodes by shaving the site and cleaning with alco-
hol to reduce the skin impedance. Electrodes for serratus anterior
were placed above the bulky part of each branch (Fig. 1).
2.3. Unstable surface features
A 20
00
wobble board (Fitter First, Calgary, AB, Canada) was used
as the unstable surface in the present study. To equalize the height
of the unstable surface with the stable surface, several plastic base
plates were used. Both surfaces were sufciently large to accept
the hands positioned at shoulder width.
2.4. Experimental procedures
Reference voluntary isometric contractions (RVICs) were col-
lected to enable normalization of the EMG amplitude. To collect
RVIC data, subjects were asked to wear a 15-lb sandbag on their
right forearm and to raise their right arm in the scaption plane (al-
most 35 anterior to the frontal plane) until the shoulder was
exed at an angle of 90. Subjects maintained this posture for 3 s
without moving their center of mass to the left. The mean value
of two trials for each muscle activity was taken as the RVIC. A 1-
min rest was given to all participants between trials. Then, partic-
ipants performed the push-up and push-up plus exercises on both
the unstable and stable surfaces (Fig. 2). Before the measurement,
each subjects height and arm length were recorded. Arm length
was dened as the distance between the acromial process and
the radial styloid process of the right arm. The locations of the
hands and feet were determined with tape by calculating the dis-
tance as 75% of the subjects height. Plastic cup markers positioned
10 cm inferior and to the midline of both hands were used to
Fig. 1. Picture of the electrode placement at the serratus anterior at the 5th and 7th
branch of the muscle arising from the each of the ribs.
862 S.-y. Park, W.-g. Yoo / Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology 21 (2011) 861867
control the push-up phase. The height of the cup markers was ad-
justed as 15% of each subjects arm length by stacking.
The period of push-up exercises was divided into 3 phases: (1)
descending phase of push-up (PUD), lowering the body to the
ground until making contact with the marker; (2) ascending phase
of push-up (PUA), raising the body from the ground to full exten-
sion at the elbow joint; (3) maintaining push-up plus (PUP), full
protraction of the scapulas following the extension phase and
maintaining the posture. The PUD and PUA phases took 3 s, and
the PUP phase took 4 s because the duration of performing push-
up plus was not considered as a maintaining phase. Therefore,
the rst 1 s of the initial maintaining-push-up plus phase was ex-
cluded in data analysis (Fig. 3). The durations of the three phases
were controlled by a sound signal generated by a metronome. Each
subject was given a 5-min practice time to acclimatize to the
movement and speed. Participants performed 2 trials each on the
unstable and stable surfaces in randomized order, with a rest time
of 3 min between trials. All trials were completed in the standard-
ized position with the hands shoulder-width apart with the partic-
ipants middle nger directly beneath the acromioclavicular joint
as described previously (Freeman et al., 2006).
The raw EMG data were full-wave rectied and integrated over
a 10-s period of each exercise. The mean integrated EMG value of
two trials for each condition was used for subsequent statistical
analyses, which was analyzed with the PUA and PUP phases and
expressed as %RVC values normalized relative to the RVIC value.
The present study did not include the normalizing procedure for
EMG activity as a percent of maximum voluntary isometric con-
traction (MVIC). There were three reasons for this. First, there were
variations in the measurement of maximum isometric voluntary
contraction (MVIC) for scapulothoracic musculature, and each var-
iation derived MVIC differently for each subject (Ekstrom et al.,
2005; Cram et al., 1998; Kendall et al., 2005). Second, the exact
measure of the MVIC would continue with resistance until the
breaking point. However, it could induce muscle strain as well as
fatigue because the resistance was applied with the humerus, not
with the scapula, in the method of MVIC measurement with the
upper trapezius, lower trapezius, and serratus anterior. Third, be-
tween-subject differences in muscle activation could be controlled
for with repeated measure design (Hardwick et al., 2006). Individ-
ual response to xed load (15 lb), which represented submaximal
isometric contraction, was considered to provide a more stable
Fig. 2. Exercise 1: Initial position of push up with stable surface. Exercise 2: Initial position of the ascending phase of push with stable surface. Exercise 3: Maintaining push
up plus with stable surface. Exercise 4: Initial position of push up with unstable surface. Exercise 5: Initial position of the ascending phase of push with unstable surface.
Exercise 6: Maintaining push up plus with unstable surface.
Fig. 3. Typical example of electromyograms which was normalized RMS values from the two parts of the serratus anterior and the upper and lower trapezius muscles during
exercise variations.
S.-y. Park, W.-g. Yoo / Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology 21 (2011) 861867 863
base for EMG normalization, especially in this within-subject
design.
2.5. Statistical analysis
The SPSS statistical package (version 12.0; SPSS, Chicago, IL,
USA) was used to analyze the signicance of differences in the acti-
vation of upper serratus anterior, lower serratus anterior, upper
trapezius, and lower trapezius during ascending phase of push-
up with stable and unstable surfaces, and push-up plus exercises
on both of surfaces. One-way repeated-measures ANOVA was con-
ducted to test for differences in ratio between upper trapezius and
serratus anterior, and for each of %RVC muscle activation during
the series of exercises. For the signicant main differences with
pairwise multiple comparison, Bonferroni correction was per-
formed to identify specic differences in exercises and surfaces.
All signicance levels were set at P < 0.05.
3. Results
The normalized EMG data of the upper serratus anterior dif-
fered signicantly between exercise variations. The PUP phase
caused signicant increases in upper serratus anterior activation
compared with the PUA phase on both stable and unstable surfaces
(P < 0.05) (Table 1) (Fig. 4). However, %RVCs of the upper serratus
anterior in PUA and PUP phases were not signicantly different be-
tween the two surfaces (P > 0.05).
There were signicant differences in the normalized EMG val-
ues of lower serratus anterior. Push-up plus exercise on an unsta-
ble surface signicantly increased lower serratus anterior activity
compared with the same exercise on a stable surface (P < 0.05) (Ta-
ble 1) (Fig. 5). On both stable and unstable surfaces, the normalized
values of lower serratus anterior in the PUP phase were also signif-
icantly greater than those of the lower serratus anterior in PUA
(P < 0.05).
Although there were no signicant differences related to the
two surfaces, the EMG data showed that upper trapezius activation
in PUA on a stable surface was signicantly higher than in PUP on
stable surfaces (P < 0.05) (Table 1) (Fig. 6). The lower trapezius was
more activated in the PUA phase than in the PUP phase on both sta-
ble and unstable surfaces (P < 0.05) (Table 1). For any given exer-
cise, however, there were no signicant differences related to the
two surfaces (P > 0.05) (Fig. 7).
Both of the upper trapezius/upper serratus anterior ratio and
upper trapezius/lower serratus anterior ratio were not signicantly
different between the surface changes, but the upper trapezius/
upper serratus anterior ratio was signicantly lower in the PUP
than in the PUA phase with both stable and unstable bases of sup-
port (P < 0.05) (Table 2) (Fig. 8). And PUA on the unstable surface
showed a signicantly increased upper trapezius/lower serratus
anterior ratio compared with PUP on an unstable surfaces
(P < 0.05) (Table 2) (Fig. 9).
Table 1
Descriptive statistics of normalized EMG data of the four muscles during push-up variations with 2-base of supports.
Muscles Mean SD (%RVC
RMS
) P-value
Stable surface Unstable surface
Push up Push up plus Push up Push up plus
Upper serratus anterior 61.71 46.68 108.67 49.80 52.04 33.02 126.63 60.45 0.00
*
Lower serratus anterior 67.76 35.67 96.62 40.50 70.25 41.86 111.45 41.71 0.00
*
Upper trapezius 30.54 21.05 14.48 17.91 44.95 39.86 15.49 17.84 0.01
*
Lower trapezius 54.26 38.76 13.35 8.69 49.34 27.36 15.50 11.62 0.00
*
*
Signicant difference between conditions.
USA
Push up Push up plus Push up Push up plus
0
50
100
150
200
*
*
Stable surface Unstable surface
%
R
V
C
Fig. 4. The normalized EMG data of the upper serratus anterior (USA) in exercise
variation.

Signicant difference between conditions.
LSA
Push up Push up plus Push up Push up plus
0
50
100
150
200
*
*
*
Stable surface Unstable surface
%
R
V
C
Fig. 5. The normalized EMG data of the lower serratus anterior (LSA) in exercise
variation.

Signicant difference between conditions.
UT
Push up Push up plus Push up Push up plus
0
50
100
*
Stable surface Unstable surface
%
R
V
C
Fig. 6. The normalized EMG data of the upper trapezius (UT) in exercise variation.

Signicant difference between conditions.

864 S.-y. Park, W.-g. Yoo / Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology 21 (2011) 861867
4. Discussion
In the present study, we examined the electromyographic activ-
ity of four scapulothoracic musculatures during push-up and push-
up plus exercises on two different surfaces. Some previous studies
have investigated the effects of push-up variations for enhancing
joint stability and muscular recruitment (Mottram, 1997; Ludewig
et al., 2004; de Oliveira et al., 2008). Ludewig et al. (2004) reported
that push-up plus was more benecial than the general push-up
exercise with respect to activation of the serratus anterior and
upper trapezius/serratus anterior ratio, and suggested that this
exercise should be considered to strengthen the serratus anterior,
while minimizing upper trapezius muscle activation. The results
of the present study showed that the normalized EMG of the upper
serratus anterior and upper trapezius/upper serratus anterior ratio
were signicantly higher and lower, respectively, in the PUP phase
compared with the PUA phase on a stable surface, which was con-
sistent with the ndings reported previously. This signicant effect
of the manner of exercise was also observed on an unstable sur-
face. Although push-up plus was considered to be a more effective
form of exercise for activating SA than standard push-ups, it must
be applied carefully in a clinical setting. Lunden et al. (2010) re-
ported that scapulothoracic and glenohumeral movement in
push-up plus may reduce the subacromial space and lead to
impingement of the rotator cuff.
The results of the present study supported our hypothesis that
the lower part of the SA would show greater activity for stabilizing
the scapular position with an unstable surface compared with the
stable base. Although no difference in the activation of the lower
serratus anterior was found between surfaces changes in ascend-
ing phase of push up, this may have been due to the fact that lower
serratus anterior was not required to provide stability. The serratus
anterior muscle has four branches attached diagonally to the 5th
8th ribs. Indeed, increased obliquity of a muscles pull decreases
the muscles capacity which related to the mobility, but increases
its stability of the joint (Muscolino, 2011).
It has been rarely reported that the use of an unstable surface
could increase muscular recruitment of the shoulder complex
(Lehman et al., 2008; de Oliveira et al., 2008). Lehman et al.
(2008) reported no signicant difference in muscle activation of
the serratus anterior and lower trapezius regardless of surface.
de Oliveira et al. (2008) also suggested that it is difcult to afrm
that the unstable surface creates a great demand for the scapulo-
thoracic muscles. In their recent study, Tucker et al. (2010)
LT
Push up Push up plus Push up Push up plus
0
50
100
*
*
Stable surface Unstable surface
%
R
V
C
Fig. 7. The normalized EMG data of the lower trapezius (LT) in exercise variation.

Signicant difference between conditions.

Table 2
Descriptive statistics of upper trapezius/serratus anterior ratio during push-up variations with 2-base of supports.
Ratio Mean SD (ratio) P-value
Stable surface Unstable surface
Push up Push up plus Push up Push up plus
Upper trapezius/upper serratus anterior 0.74 0.57 0.16 0.19 1.21 1.09 0.15 0.17 0.01
*
Upper trapezius/lower serratus anterior 0.69 0.84 0.15 0.13 0.91 0.81 0.14 0.13 0.00
*
*
Signicant difference between conditions.
UT/USA
Push up Push up plus Push up Push up plus
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
*
*
Stable surface Unstable surface
R
a
t
i
o
Fig. 8. The upper trapezius (UT)/upper serratus anterior (USA) ratio in exercise variation.

Signicant difference between conditions.
S.-y. Park, W.-g. Yoo / Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology 21 (2011) 861867 865
investigated scapular muscle activities during closed kinetic chain
exercises and showed that changes in the surfaces could affect the
scapular muscle activities with symptomatic subjects but that
there were no differences in healthy subjects. We considered that
the discrepancies between our results and those of previous stud-
ies may have been due to changes in the electrode placement for
lower serratus anterior in the present study. Our results of the nor-
malized EMG in upper serratus anterior, for which the electrode
was placed close to the level of the 5th rib, did not show signicant
differences associated with changes in the surface, similar to the
results reported previously (Lehman et al., 2008; Tucker et al.,
2010; de Oliveira et al., 2008). However, we could not afrm that
push-up plus with an unstable base is an ideal form of exercise
to activate the lower serratus anterior. Compared with the upper
trapezius/upper serratus anterior ratio, which showed signicant
difference in support of the advantages of push-up plus, there were
no signicant differences in upper trapezius/lower serratus ante-
rior ratio with changes in the base of support.
A signicant difference in upper trapezius was observed be-
tween the PUA and PUP phases on a stable surface, but no such
relationship was seen on an unstable surface, which may have
been due to differences in individual responses to the unstable sur-
face and large variability of %RVC values. On both stable and unsta-
ble surfaces, normalized values of lower trapezius in the PUP phase
were signicantly lower than those in PUA. Inman et al. (1944)
suggested that not only the lower part of the serratus anterior
but also the lower trapezius participated in stabilizing the inferior
angle of the scapula. The PUP phase was dened as maintaining full
scapular protraction, which required isometric contraction of the
scapulothoracic musculature against the body mass in the present
study. Although serratus anterior was higher in the PUP phase than
in the PUA phase, our results regarding lower trapezius were the
opposite. The movement investigated in the previous study by In-
man et al. (1944) was arm elevation, and the lower trapezius was
described as contributing to posterior tilt and external rotation of
the scapula during humeral elevation (Ludewig et al., 1996). There-
fore, we thought that the lower trapezius might be activated in
movement requiring dynamic stability such as arm elevation,
rather than static stability.
The present study had some limitations. First, we examined
EMG data normalized relative to submaximal voluntary contrac-
tion. Not including the method of normalization as MVIC, it was
impossible to compare the effects of the exercises with previous
studies that had investigated push-up and push-up plus exercises,
despite the fact that it was possible to compare the relative effects
of exercises within subjects. However, we selected the RVIC meth-
od because inducing individual muscular response to the same
load could be a more stable method than manual resistance ap-
plied from the researchers. Second, the electrode placement used
in this study did not include the sixth and eighth rib levels of the
serratus anterior, to avoid the possibility of cross-talk due to the
small distances between the electrodes. Finally, there was a lack
of effort to control the movement of the humerus and forearm,
such as internal and external rotation and degrees of abduction,
due to the absence of kinematic data.
5. Conclusions
The present study was performed to evaluate whether surface
changes would affect the scapulothoracic musculature during
push-up and push-up plus exercises. Consistent with our hypothe-
sis, lower serratus anterior was activated to a greater extent with
the unstable surface, which required more stability of the joint
than did the stable base during the push-up and plus phases. In
addition, we conrmed that the serratus anterior showed greater
activation in the push-up plus than in the standard push-up.
Clearly, the results of the present study suggest the necessity of
investigating the intramuscular differences between parts of the
serratus anterior during exercises for rehabilitation.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program
through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded
by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (No. 2011-
0005580).
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0.0
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a
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Se-yeon Park received his bachelor of science in
physical therapy at the Inje university in 2009 and
now is a master of science student in physical
therapy and rehabilitation sciences at Inje univer-
sity. He is currently working as a researcher of
National Research Foundation of Korea for devel-
oping posture sensing device and a member of the
Korean Physical Therapy Association. His research
interests include musculoskeletal response in
physical therapy interventions, scapular dyskinesis
and developing devices for correcting posture for
VDT workers.
Won-gyu Yoo received the Ph.D. in Physical Ther-
apy Treatments for Musculoskeletal Disorders from
the Yonsei University, the Republic of Korea, in
2008. He is currently assistant professor in the
department of Physical Therapy at Inje University in
Gimhea, Gyeongsangnam-do, Republic of Korea. He
is working as the main researcher of National
Research Foundation of Korea for posture correction
research of computer users. His research interests
include biological signal processing, chronic muscle
pain and dysfunction due to overuse, and medical
device development for physical therapy interven-
tions.
S.-y. Park, W.-g. Yoo / Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology 21 (2011) 861867 867