Effect of electromyographic biofeedback on learning the short foot exercise.

BACKGROUND: The short foot (SF) exercise is a strengthening exercise for the intrinsic foot muscles that is difficult to master.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of three different electromyographic (EMG) biofeedback methods on learning the SF exercise.

METHODS: Thirty-six healthy subjects were randomly allocated to the control group (CTG), EMG-controlled electrical stimulation group (ESG), visual EMG biofeedback group (VSG), and combination EMG-controlled electrical stimulation with visual EMG biofeedback group (CBG). The CTG practiced the SF exercise for 5 minutes using the conventional method. The other groups each used the EMG biofeedback method and the conventional method. The EMG activity of the abductor hallucis (ABH), the medial longitudinal arch (MLA) angle, and the foot length during the SF exercise were measured before and after 5 minutes of practice.

RESULTS: The EMG activity of the ABH in the VSG and CBG was significantly higher than that before practice. There were no intergroup differences in MLA morphology.

CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that visual EMG biofeedback is an effective method of increasing the EMG activity of the ABH during the SF exercise in a short practice time.