BACKGROUND: Sling bridge exercise is an important exercise for closed-chain strength training used in clinical settings. Sufficient strengths of the various hip muscles are needed for accurate movement of the hip joint. OBJECTIVE: To compare the difference in the electromyographic activities of the gluteus maximus (GM), GM/biceps femoris (BF), and the rating of perceived exertion (RPE), the visual analogue scale (VAS) in individuals with non-specific lower back pain (NSLBP) among four different sling-bridge exercises. METHODS: Twenty NSLBP participants were included. They were asked to perform different sling-bridge exercises as follows: (1) Sling on the heel with knee extension; HKE, (2) Sling on the heel with knee flexion; HKF, (3) Sling on the knee with knee extension; KKE, (4) Sling on the knee with knee flexion; KKF) in random order. GM, BF, and MF muscle activities were measured by surface electromyography during the exercises. One-way repeated analysis of variance and Bonferroni post hoc test were used to compare normalized muscle activities. The significance level was set at alpha = 0.01. RESULTS: The muscle activity of GM and the ratio of GM/BF muscle activity were significantly different among four different conditions (HKE, HKF, KKE, KKF) (adjusted p-value; p adj < 0.01). The muscle activity of GM was higher during the KKF sling-bridge exercise than the HKE, HKF, and KKE sling-bridge exercises (p adj < 0.01). The ratio of GM/BF muscle activity during the KKF sling bridge exercise was higher than the HKE, HKF, and KKE sling-bridge exercises (p adj < 0.01). In contrast, the visual analogue scale (VAS) and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) during the KKF sling-bridge exercise were smaller than the HKE, HKF, and KKE sling-bridge exercises (p adj < 0.01). CONCLUSION: KKF sling-bridge exercise can be recommended to selectively facilitate the muscle activity of GM and improve the ratio of GM/BF muscle activity without an increase in VAS and RPE in individuals with NSLBP.

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