Electromyographic analysis of the three subdivisions of gluteus medius during two different exercises: Wall press exercise and figure-of-four position.

BACKGROUND: Gluteus medius (GM) is a segmented muscle involving three muscular subdivisions. Rehabilitation exercises has been suggested to strengthen specific subdivisions.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate muscular activation of the anterior, middle, and posterior subdivisions of the GM during two different exercises.

METHODS: A total of 28 healthy active subjects participated in this study. Muscle activity using surface electromyography was recorded for the three GM subdivisions during figure-of-four position (FFP) and wall press (WP). Non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test was used to detect differences between GM subdivisions on each exercise and the Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare muscular activation across exercises.

RESULTS: There were statistically significant differences (P< 0.001) in all GM subdivision during FFP and WP exercises. Both exercises showed greater activation of the posterior subdivision than the middle and anterior subdivisions, with the WP causing highest activation of the posterior subdivision.

CONCLUSION: In line with the WP exercise, the FFP produces sufficient activity to provide potential strength gains on the posterior subdivision and could be a viable option to include in the early stages of the rehabilitation process. Clinicians may use this information to make more informed decisions about exercise selection for strengthening specific GM subdivision.