Purpose：In recent years, senior friendly device is growing rapidly because of population aging The study was designed to investigate the effects of table height of electronic bed on Upper Extremity and Trunk EMG in elderly.
Methods：Thirty right-handed elderly without history of neurological and musculoskeletal dysfunction were participated in this study. Three heights of the table (3/3 height, 2/3 height, and 1/3 height between top of the shoulder and olecranon) were provided. During the eating performance, surface electromyography (EMG) was used to measure muscle activity, and electrodes were attached to the deltoid middle fiber, serratus anterior, suprapinatus, upper trapezius, rhomboideus, cervical part of longissimus, thoracic part of longissimus, lumbar part of longissimus on right. One way ANOVA was conducted for the statistical analysis.
Results：There were significant differences in deltoid middle fiber, suprapinatus, upper trapezius, rhomboideus, lumbar part of longissimus in the 3 different height of table (p<.05). The deltoid middle fiber, suprapinatus, upper trapezius, and lumbar part of longissimus were significantly increased in higher table than lower table(p<.05). And the rhomboideus was significantly decreased in higher table than lower table(p<.05).
Conclusion：This study demonstrates that different height of table affect upper extremity and trunk muscle activity. The table height of olecranon is the best for elderly.