Manual therapy
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The abdominal drawing-in maneuver (ADIM) is commonly used as a fundamental component of lumbar stabilization training programs. One potential limitation of lumbar stabilization programs is that it can be difficult and time consuming to train people to perform the ADIM. The transverse abdominis (TrA), internal oblique (IO), and external oblique (EO) muscles are the most powerful muscles involved in expiration. ⋯ The EMG activity of the EO muscle was significantly higher during maximum expiration than during the ADIM (p < 0.001). The intensity of the EMG activity of the EO muscle was approximately 30% of the maximal voluntary contraction during maximum expiration. Thus, maximum expiration may be an effective method for training of co-activation of the lateral abdominal muscles.