Gluteus Medius Muscle Activation During Isometric Muscle Contractions.

Context: Functional subdivisions are proposed to exist in the gluteus medius (GM) muscle. Dysfunction of the GM, in particular its functional subdivisions, is commonly implicated in lower limb pathologies. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence examining the role of the subdivisions of the GM. Objectives: To compare the activation of the functional subdivisions of the GM (anterior, middle, and posterior) during isometric hip contractions. Design: Single-session, repeated-measures observational study. Setting: University research laboratory. Participants: Convenience sample of 15 healthy, pain-free subjects. Intervention: Subjects performed 3 maximal voluntary isometric contractions for hip abduction and internal and external rotation on an isokinetic dynamometer with simultaneous recording of surface electromyography (sEMG) activity of the GM subdivisions. Main Outcome Measures: sEMG muscle activity for each functional subdivision of the GM during each hip movement was analyze