Feedback Type on Abdominal Drawing-In Maneuver Performance: Further Motor Control and Motor Learning Considerations

Research

Objectives: To compare effects of verbal, tactile-verbal and visual feedback on muscle activation of the trunk stabilizers relative to trunk-extremity movers during Abdominal Drawing-In Maneuver (ADIM).

Design: The study employed a quasi-experimental pre-post intervention design.Setting: The study was conducted at School of Health Professions, SUNY Health Sciences University.Participants: A convenience sample of 54 healthy participants between18-49 years of age were equally divided among three feedback groups: Verbal, Tactile-Verbal and Visual.Interventions: All participants were instructed similarly to perform the ADIM prior to receiving intervention 2x/week over a four-week period. The feedback provided during interventions was delivered concurrently but feedback types differed amongst the groups. Verbal group received intermittent feedback based upon observance of substitution patterns. Tactile-verbal group received feedback every trial upon palpation of Transverse Abdominis. Lastly, Visual group received feedback every trial using a pressure biofeedback unit.Main Outcome Measures: The percentage of maximum voluntary isometric contraction of rectus abdominis (RA), multifidus (MF), erector spinae (ES), and hamstrings (HS) as outcome measures were acquired using surface electromyography. A two-way factorial ANOVA with bootstrapping allowed comparison of pre-post difference scores across the interaction of feedback and muscle groups.

Results: HS activation decreased in the tactile-verbal group, relative to an increase in subjects given visual feedback. Furthermore, in the verbal group, HS activity increased relative to a decline in RA; and in the visual group, HS activity increased relative to a decrease in MF. However, no pre-post changes were seen across muscles with tactile-verbal feedback..

Conclusions: Although tactile-verbal feedback did not increase MF recruitment, it recruited less HS activity than verbal and especially visual feedback. Increases in HS recruitment may reflect boredom of simple task or feedback dependency.Author(s) Disclosures: The authors have no disclosures..