ReviewSports (Basel, Switzerland)2024
Comparison of the Electromyography Activity during Exercises with Stable and Unstable Surfaces: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Review in Sports (Basel, Switzerland), 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The effects of instability training on balance and jump performance in athletes: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Physiological reports · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Unstable trunk core strength training improves shooting performance and holding stability in elite 10 m air pistol athletes: a pilot randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2026Trial
- Effects of rear-foot instability devices on lower-limb muscle activation during the Bulgarian split squat in male football players.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Electromyographic Activation of the Pectoralis Major and Triceps Brachii Muscles During Standard, Diamond, and Wide Hand Position Push-Ups.Muscles (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Development of an RPE-Based Prediction Model for Trunk Muscle Activation During Water Inertia Load Exercise: A Pilot EMG Study.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2026Article
- Angle-specific upper body muscle activation in suspension push-ups: an electromyographic analysis across different body angles.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The effect of electromyographic (EMG) activity on agonist muscles during exercises performed on stable and unstable surfaces remains uncertain. We aimed to review the literature regarding the comparison of the EMG activity of the agonist muscles of exercises performed on stable and unstable surfaces. Eighty-six studies that evaluated the EMG activity of 1783 individuals during exercises for the lower limbs, upper limbs, and core were included. The EMG activities of the pectoralis major (SMD = 0.28 [95% CI 0.09, 0.47]) and triceps brachii muscles (SMD = 0.45 [95% CI 0.25, 0.66]) were significantly increased when the unstable device was added to the exercise. Likewise, the EMG activity of all core muscles showed a significant increase with the unstable surface during the exercises, such as the rectus abdominis (SMD = 0.51 [95% CI 0.37, 0.66]), external oblique (SMD = 0.44 [95% CI 0.28, 0.61]), internal oblique (SMD = 1.04 [95% CI 0.02, 2.07]), erector spinae (SMD = 0.37 [95% CI 0.04, 0.71]), and lumbar multifidus (SMD = 0.35 [95% CI 0.08, 0.61]). However, the lower limb muscles did not show greater EMG activity during the exercise with unstable surfaces compared to the stable surface. In conclusion, unstable conditions increase the EMG activity of some upper limb and core muscles compared to a stable surface.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.