Surface electromyography as a measure of trunk muscle activity in patients with spinal cord injury: a meta-analytic review.
BACKGROUND
Surface electromyography (SEMG) may be a sensitive marker for distinguishing the activity of trunk muscles, which are critical to functional mobility recovery in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI).


OBJECTIVE
This manuscript presents a systematic review and meta-analysis of the published literature on the effect of SEMG as a measure of trunk muscle activity in patients with SCI.


METHODS
A comprehensive search of the research literature included Pubmed, Medline, CNKI, WANFANG DATA, Web of Science, Elsevier, Wiley-Blackwell, Karger, OVID, and a review of reference lists within found articles. Case-control, cohort, and cross-sectional studies were included in the review.


RESULTS
Eleven studies were included in this meta-analysis. Trunk muscle activities for the sitting condition were greater in patients with SCI than normal subjects. SEMG activity of trunk muscles for the sitting condition and posterior transfer was greater in patients with high level (HL)-SCI compared to those with low level (LL)-SCI. In addition, across studies, the level of trunk muscle activity for various difficulty settings was different for a given SCI group.


CONCLUSIONS
This systematic review evaluated the value of trunk muscles for patients with SCI. We recommend use of SEMG as an assessment tool for improving the comparability and interpretability of trunk muscle activity of SCI therapeutic strategies.
Yi-ji
YJ
Wang
Jian-jun
JJ
Li
Hong-jun
HJ
Zhou
Geng-lin
GL
Liu
Ying
Y
Zheng
Bo
B
Wei
Ying
Y
Zhang
Chun-xia
CX
Hao
Hai-qiong
HQ
Kang
Yuan
Y
Yuan
Lian-jun
LJ
Gao
D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004576:Electromyography / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000294:innervation / Q000502:physiology*; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis*; D060726:Torso / Q000502:physiology
Spinal cord injury; Surface electromyography; Trunk muscle