Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 28, 2026

Comparison of Kinetic Characteristics of Footwork during Stroke in Table Tennis: Cross-Step and Chasse Step
Published on: June 16, 2021
Electric efficiency of the erector spinae in high performance amateur tennis players
T Renkawitz1, O Linhardt, J Grifka
1Regensburg University Medical Center, Bad Abbach, Germany. tobias.renkawitz@web.de
Aim:
The aim of the paper was to evaluate neuromuscular activity patterns of the lumbar erector spinae during isometric voluntary maximum trunk extension and how this could be influenced through a back exercise home program in high performance amateur tennis players.
Methods:
Experimental longitudinal study of the lower back in a clinical setting. Seventy high performance amateur tennis players underwent isometric trunk extension tests in a specially built apparatus with simultaneous surface electromyography (EMG) recording from right and left lumbar erector spinae. Imbalance quotients were calculated using Electric Efficiency measures. Isometric and electromyographic changes were reviewed after a 7-week daily home program of back exercise.
Results:
Neuromuscular imbalance of the lumbar erector spinae associated with reduced Electric Efficiency, closely related to handedness was observed amongst tennis athletes at the start of the study. After a 7-week back exercise home program, lumbar neuromuscular imbalances were evened out and the Electric Efficiency of the erector spinae improved significantly at lumbar level L2 and L4. No significant difference was measured in maximal isometric trunk extension strength.
Conclusion:
The asymmetric trunk loading caused by tennis specific biomechanics with trunk hyperextension motions and trunk rotation seems to induce imbalanced muscle activity patterns of the lumbar erector spinae. A home program of back exercises for tennis players can help to compensate for these imbalances, improves Electric Efficiency patterns of the erector spinae and should therefore be integrated in the daily training routine of high performance tennis players.
Related Concept Videos
Motor Unit Stimulation
The latent period of contraction marks the onset of excitation-contraction coupling, when the action potential propagates across the sarcolemma, preparing the muscle fibers for contraction. As the fibers enter the contraction phase, the...
Muscle Stimulation Frequency
Wave summation
At low firing rates, motor neurons induce individual twitch contractions in muscle fibers. These twitches...
Exercise and Muscle Performance
Endurance exercises
Endurance exercises involve running, swimming, or cycling, which require repetitive movements with low force output. When a person engages in endurance exercise, a few noticeable changes occur in their skeletal muscles. For instance, the number of capillaries...
Excitation-Contraction Coupling in Skeletal Muscles
When an action potential...
Mechanical Efficiency of Real Machines
However, in reality, no machine can be truly ideal, and all of them experience some...
Energy Supply for Muscle Contraction
