Characteristics of lower limb muscle activity during upper limb elevation in badminton players

[Purpose] To clarify the characteristics of postural control in badminton players by examining their lower-limb muscle activity during upper-limb elevation. [Subjects and Methods] Fourteen badminton players and 14 non-players were studied. The subjects were instructed to perform an upper-limb elevation task in order to measure the activities of the biceps femoris and biceps brachii. [Results] When elevating the dominant hand, the mean biceps femoris integrated electromyogram showed markedly higher values in the player group, for the contralateral compared with the ipsilateral leg. Similarly, when elevating the dominant hand, the difference in the maximum integrated electromyogram response time between the ipsilateral and contralateral legs was significantly smaller in the players compared with non-players. [Conclusion] It may be possible to reduce the time needed to elevate the dominant hand by shifting lower-limb activity from the ipsilateral to the contralateral leg more quickly, while increasing the rate of rise in contralateral leg muscle activity.