Background: Based on the understanding of the muscle activation relationship between the infraspinatus and posterior deltoid muscles to according to the angle of motion during external rotation on glenohumeral joint, effective shoulder joint strengthening exercise for the prevention and rehabilitation of shoulder injury due to muscle strength imbalance can be performed by achieving the ideal muscle activity ratio during exercise. Objectives: To compare and analyze the muscle activation changes and activity ratio of the infraspinatus and posterior deltoid muscles according to the glenohumeral external rotation angle. Design: Quasi-randomized trial. Methods: The study included 48 healthy male and female adults who provided informed consent for participation in the study. All the subjects performed isometric glenohumeral external rotation by setting the angle of motion to 30°, 45°, and 60° using a 5 kg resistance weight pulley. On surface electromyography, the differences in muscle activation and activity ratio between the infraspinatus and posterior deltoid muscles were investigated. Results: A significant difference in muscle activation was found in the comparison between the infraspinatus and posterior deltoid muscles according to the glenohumeral external rotation angle (P<.05). The muscle activation levels of the infraspinatus and posterior deltoid muscles were highest at the external rotation angles of 30° and 60°, respectively. The muscle activity ratio between the infraspinatus and posterior deltoid muscles also showed a significant difference (P<.05) and was highest at the shoulder external rotation angle of 30°. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that muscle activity is the highest at the shoulder external rotation angle of 30° in healthy individuals.

The quadriceps-angle (Q-angle) and the ratio of hamstring/quadriceps (H/Q) are important for the stability of the knee and for protection from excessive stress. The aim of this study was to examine the association between Q-angle and H/Q ratio with and without knee osteoarthritis. We compared knee osteoarthritis patients with symptom-free women. The mean age of the patients in the arthritis group (25 women, osteoarthritis) was 59.7 years. The non-arthritis group consisted of 25 women with a mean age of 55.2 years. Of the 25 women with osteoarthritis, 5 had the condition in their left knee, 5 had it in their right knee, and 15 had it on both sides. There was no significant difference in the knee Q-angle of the left and right knees of the arthritis group and the non-arthritis-group (p>.05). The strength of all the muscles around the involved right knee in the arthritis group was significantly weaker than that of the non-arthritis group (p<.05). However, in the left knee, only the strength of the knee extensors and internal rotators was significantly weaker than that of the non-arthritis group (p<.05). The Q-angle was not associated with the H/Q ratio and internal rotators/external rotators ratio of the involved knee in the arthritis group (p>.05). Neither was the Q-angle associated with the pain level of an involved knee in the arthritis group (p>.05). The knee pain was not associated with the H/Q ratio of the involved knee in the arthritis group (p>.05). The Q-angle was not associated with the ratio of H/Q and pain level of the involved knee in the osteoarthritis women.