In this article, we'll discuss muscle activity in fat people and standard people.
Have you ever given someone else a massage?
In general, it's only family members or partners that do it, and it's unlikely that you'll ever massage someone else.
When I was giving massages, I suddenly realized that there is a difference in muscle hardness between obese people and people with a standard body shape, and I was wondering why.
I was wondering about the difference in muscle hardness between obese and normal people. However, there were many people who had characteristic muscle stiffness.The study I'm going to introduce is about the differences in muscle activity between obese and non-obese people in the standing and sitting positions.
It is not very surprising, but it may be good for those who are curious about the differences.
Contents of the study
The purpose of this study was to compare the muscle activity of the tibialis anterior (TA), rectus femoris (RF), and erector spinae (ES) muscles in normal weight and obese subjects at various chair heights during standing (STS).
It also compared the differences in muscle activity between normal weight and obese subjects.
Twenty-six subjects (13 normal weight and 13 obese) were included in this study.
Each subject performed the STS at three chair heights (40 cm, 50 cm, and 60 cm) and had their TA, RF, and ES muscle activity measured.
The measurements showed that TA muscle activation was significantly higher than RF and ES muscle activation during STS at all chair heights in obese subjects.
TA muscle activation was shown to be significantly higher than RF muscle activation during STS at all chair heights in normal weight subjects.
RF and ES muscle activation was shown to be significantly higher in normal weight subjects than in obese subjects at chair heights of 40 and 50 cm.
However, TA muscle activation did not show a significant difference between normal weight and obese subjects.The results of this study suggested that obese subjects need to practice the use of RF and ES muscles in the short stature chair during STS.
Commentary
The results of this study show that obese and even standard weight people have increased activity of the tibialis anterior muscle when standing up from a chair, one result that is known to anyone who has studied kinesiology.
However, it was noted that people who are obese have less activity in the rectus femoris muscle when standing up from a chair than those who are not.
This indicates that the muscles involved in knee extension are strong, but the force is not being used actively.
It is thought that the fat accumulated in the thighs may be slowing down the contraction of the muscles. This is thought to be due to fat accumulation in the thighs slowing down muscle contraction.
Also, the same seems to be true for the erector spinae muscle group as for the rectus femoris, but it was expected that these things would result from conserving the activity of the erector spinae and preventing back pain.
There are some limitations in coming to this conclusion, so they do not know if the same phenomenon will occur at joint angles that do not meet the requirements.
Kim SH, Ju SK. Comparison of muscle activity during sit-to-stand movement at different chair heights between obese and normal-weight subjects. J Exerc. Rehabil. 2021;17(1):39-44. Published 2021 Feb 23. doi:10.12965/jer.2040800.400
Conclusion
Obese people tend to have weaker active contraction of the rectus femoris and erector spinae muscles than non-obese people, suggesting that depending on the height of the chair, obese people may have a greater burden on their muscles.
As for the massage mentioned at the beginning of this article, I thought it would be interesting to introduce it because I do manual therapy as part of my qualifications, and I have felt these differences, which apply to this study.
When it comes to properly assessing these factors, it is sometimes difficult to tell visually unless the point of focus is clear, and variables due to bias cannot be prevented.When properly assessing, it is more reliable to use a recording medium as well as the human eye, so if you want to compare, please do.
Obesity? If you are obese or overweight, you may want to do some exercises for your erector spinae and rectus femoris muscles to make a difference when you stand up from a chair.
