Abstract
[Purpose] To investigate the effect of the five animals (wuqinxi) exercises on the lumbosacral multifidus. [Subjects and Methods] This study enrolled two groups of volunteers, 15 volunteers who did the five animals exercises, the experimental group, and 15 volunteers who did aerobic exercise (walking), the control group. Both before and after the 1 year exercise intervention, the average surface electromyography (ASEMG) of the two groups in the process of flexion and extension was recorded and analyzed using DASYLab10.0 software, and the flexion extension ratio (FER) was calculated. [Results] The ASEMG in the process of flexion was lower than the ASEMG in the process of extension both before and after the 1 year exercise intervention on both sides of all volunteers. There was no significant difference in FER between the experimental group and control group before the 1 year exercise intervention; however, the FER of experimental group was lower than that of the control group after the 1 year exercise intervention. There was no significant difference between the two sides in any individual both before and after the 1 year exercise intervention in both groups. [Conclusion] The "wuqinxi" exercises improved the function of the lumbosacral multifidus, and might be an alternative method of reducing low back pain.