A supine exercise program linking trunk stability with lower extremity coordination is associated with improved body balance and agility: A study using randomized crossover and pre-post trial designs (IMAGE)
Caption
Exercise program protocols. The exercise program comprised the following three types of exercises. (A) This is an exercise of the abdominal muscles. Participants flexed their knee joints, placed their hands on their abdomens, and lightly compressed using their fingertips. They contracted the abdominal muscles in that area against the pressure for 5 s and subsequently relaxed. The inlet shows the abdominal region in the frontal plane (A’). The abdomen is divided into nine areas surrounding the lower end of the ribs, pubis, and both iliac crests. Participants performed the exercise in each area three times (Exercise 1). (B) This is an exercise that improves trunk and lower extremity linkages. Participants flexed their knee joints, with their hands placed on their abdomen. They tilted their pelvis backward while keeping their abdomen contracted and subsequently contracted their hip extensors as in a bridge exercise. The arrow indicates the direction of pelvic movement. They contracted for 5 s with their hips slightly off the floor and subsequently relaxed, repeating ten times (Exercise 2). (C) This is an exercise that improves lower extremity muscle coordination. Participants started in a supine position with both lower extremities extended, then they flexed one knee to 90°, and placed the sole on the floor. Next, they maintained the flexed toe and dorsiflexed ankle joint positions. Subsequently, their hip and knee joints were extended while slightly scraping their heels on the floor while maintaining the angle of the ankle joint as much as possible. The arrow indicates the direction of leg movement. Finally, their lower extremities, with their knees fully extended, were exerted for 5 s by pushing their heels out caudally and subsequently relaxed. Both lower extremities were exercised three times alternately (Exercise 3). (D) From left to right, with both lower extremities in extension, rock-paper-scissors training was performed with the toes: rock (clenching the toes), scissors (raising the thumb), scissors (behind the thumb), and paper (keeping toes apart). This exercise was repeated five times. The figure shows the right toes (Exercise 3).
Credit
Atomi et al., 2026, PLOS One, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
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CC BY