The Effects of Exercise on Muscle Tension and Subsequent Muscle Relaxation Training

Abstract

This investigation examined the effects of physical exercise on muscle tension and subsequent muscle relaxation training. Twenty college students participated in the first phase of the study, which included a 10-minute EMG baseline, 30 minutes of pedalling on a bicycle ergometer, followed by EMG measurements on the frontalis muscle for up to 3 hours after the end of exercise. The same subjects from Phase I went on to Phase II, which included eight 32-minute EMG biofeedback training (BFT) sessions, utilizing the frontalis muscle. Ten subjects randomly assigned to the experimental group received BFT following an acute exercise bout, while the 10 subjects in the control group received no treatment. The greatest decrease in muscle tension in Phase I occurred 90 minutes after the end of the exercise. This finding was not significantly different from the baseline, indicating that there was no relaxation effect as a result of exercise. In Phase II, significant differences between pre and post-test measurements in both groups indicated that learning of relaxation did occur. However, no significant differences were found between the two groups, indicating that physical exercise did not enhance the learning of EMG BFT.