Change in electromyographic activity of wrist extensor by cylindrical brace

Purpose: To verify the effect of a newly-developed cylindrical type forearm brace, which was designed to give focal counterforce perpendicularly on the muscle belly of the wrist extensor. Materials and Methods: The dominant hands of 24 (12 males, 12 females) healthy subjects were tested. Two types of forearm braces (focal cylindrical type and broad pneumatic type) were examined. The braces were applied at the extensor carpi radialis brevis, 5 to 7 cm distal to the lateral epicondyle. Two surface electrodes were attached to the proximal and distal parts of the brace. By quantitative electromyography, the mean amplitudes of voluntary extensor carpi radialis brevis contraction before and after applying each brace were recorded and analyzed. Results: The mean amplitudes of the focal cylindrical brace and broad pneumatic brace were reduced significantly compared to no brace (p<0.05), with a larger reduction for the cylindrical brace than the pneumatic brace (p<0.05). There was no significant difference between the proximal and distal mean amplitudes with each brace. Conclusion: A cylindrical type brace decreased electromyographic activity in the wrist extensor more effectively than did the pneumatic type brace.