The effect of wearing spandex underwear on the activity of low-back and hip muscles

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of wearing spandex underwear on the symmetric activity of low-back and hip muscles. Ten males and ten females participated in the experiment and electromyography (EMG) was measured from their trunk and hip flexor/extensor muscles. Data were collected during dynamic and static flexion/extension motions. The degree of asymmetry measured by EMG was used as a dependent variable and the spandex underwear and gender were used as independent variables. In the results, a significant improvement was found in symmetric muscle activity when wearing spandex underwear. That is, the spandex underwear with a specially designed pattern can help subjects to equally use their right and left muscles. This result can be further investigated in order to find the possibility of using the spandex underwear as an assistive garment for rehabilitating LBP patients with anatomical or functional asymmetry of the trunk and hip. © 2012 Taylor & Francis Group, London.