The effect of strict muscle stress limits on abdominal muscle force predictions for combined torsion and extension loadings

The objective of this study was to determine to what extent the central nervous system activates torso muscles so as to equalize the largest muscle stresses. Two optimization models that treat large muscle stresses differently were formulated. One model minimized spinal compression force subject to the lowest possible muscle stress limit, and the other model minimized the sum of cubed muscle stresses. Experimental conditions were determined for which the two models made different muscle force predictions. Specifically, the models predicted different rectus abdominis activity levels for tasks involving torsion and extension moment loadings. Surface electromyography was used to evaluate the model predictions. Applied loads were chosen to assure that the rectus abdominis EMG exceeded 30% MVC. Analysis of variance indicated that rectus abdominis activity was not affected by torsion loading at the p< 0.05 level of significance in a statistical design having 90% power, which was consistent with the predictions of the model that minimized the sum of cubed muscle stresses. Thus, it was concluded that equalization of the largest muscles stress was not the paramount objective of the central nervous system in the tasks studied.