Reliability and validity of surface EMG assessments combined with isometric muscle strength testing in patients with abdominal rectus diastasis and asymptomatic controls

Patients with abdominal rectus diastasis (ARD) may have muscular functional impairments, but clinics lack appropriate objective assessment tools. The aim was to establish the relative and absolute reliability, and convergent validity, of muscular activity using Surface Electromyography (SEMG) during isometric abdominal muscle strength testing in patients with ARD and controls without ARD.