The Effect of Unilateral Hockey Bag Carriage on the Muscle Activities of the Trunk and Lower Limb of Young Healthy Males During Gait

Abstract

This study explored the trunk and lower limb muscle activity of 15 males during unilateral hockey bag carriage of 10%, 20%, and 30% of one’s body weight (BW) compared with without a load during walking. The electromyography (EMG) activities of the left and right erector spinae, rectus abdominis, gluteus maximus, rectus femoris, vastus medialis, biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and the medial gastrocnemius were studied. A 2-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to examine the differences between the load weight and muscle side. Results showed significant increase in peak EMG and iEMG in the carrying side vastus medialis, rectus abdominis, semitendinosus, and gastrocnemii (p < 0.05) at the 30% BW load. The noncarrying side showed a greater peak EMG in the semitendinosus and rectus femoris at the 30% BW load when compared with the carrying side (p < 0.05). It was concluded that unilateral hockey bag carriage is similar to both backpack and side-pack carriage styles.

Keywords:

• EMG
• unilateral
• load carriage
• asymmetrical load carriage
• walking