Biomechanical Response of the Upper Body

during Prostration in Salat and the Childs Pose: a

Preliminary Study

J. Phys. Ther. Sci.

24: 10211024, 2012

Fatimah Ibrahim, PhD, MScE, BScEE1), Siti A. Ahmad, PhD, MSc, BEng1,2),
Park Jong Woo, BEng1,3), Wan Abu Bakar Wan Abas, PhD, BSc1)
1) Medical

Informatics and Biological Micro-electro-Mechanical Systems (MIMEMS) Specialized Lab,

Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya: 50603 Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia. E-mail: fatimah@um.edu.my
2) Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra
Malaysia
3) Department of Biomedical Engineering, Inje University

Abstract. [Purpose] Salat is the prayer practiced by Muslims and it involves several physical motions, namely
standing, bowing and prostrating, which can be considered as a form of slow moderate exercise. The purpose of
this research was to investigate the activities of the upper body muscles and the body composition during Salats
prostration and the childs pose. [Subjects] Eight healthy male and female university students were recruited for this
study. [Methods] The body composition of each subject was first measured. The subjects were then asked to perform
Salats prostration motion followed by the childs pose posture. Electromyographic (EMG) signals were recorded
from the biceps brachii, triceps brachii, scapula muscle, and pectoralis major muscles. The signals were converted
to root mean square values. The Mann-Whitney U non-parametric test was conducted to investigate the significance
of differences in EMG mean values and body composition in both postures. [Results] The findings show that all the
muscles were activated in both postures with the triceps brachii recording the highest value. For the triceps brachii,
the prostration posture gave higher values. However, no significant difference was found in the body composition.
[Conclusion] The prostration posture produces musculoskeletal effects similar to the childs pose.
Key words: Salat, Prostration, Childs pose
(This article was submitted May 16, 2012, and was accepted Jun. 5, 2012)

INTRODUCTION
An exercise is any physical body activity performed to
enhance or maintain physical fitness and overall healthiness
of the body. In order to maintain a healthy body, everyone
needs to exercise regularly. It has been proven that exercise
yields both physiological and psychological benefits. Hence,
regular exercisers have better health and fitness compared
to less frequent exercisers1). The amount of exercise recommended is two to three times a week for 30 to 60 minutes
each time. In general, exercise can be divided into three
types: flexibility, aerobic and anaerobic exercises. Exercise
ranges from mild to strong forms and gives different benefits.
An example of flexibility exercises is stretching which helps
to loosen up the muscles and joints. Many researchers have
reported the benefits of exercise from different perspectives25).
Salat is the practice of formal prayer in Islam which must
be performed by the Muslims five times a day. Performing
Salat involves performing several postures, namely standing,
bowing and prostration which equivalent to performance of
a slow moderate exercise. Most of the muscles and joints
of the body are activated during the performance of Salat.

Besides the physical benefits to the performer, Salat gives

spiritual benefits as well2, 612). Performing Salat confers
benefits on the cardiovascular system, musculoskeletal
system, body composition and optimum body posture5).
Ibrahim et al.13) investigated the heart rate (HR) for different
Salat positions and showed there are unique pattern of HR
in the different positions. The values of HR seem to change
in proportion with the distance of the heart from the ground
and the position of the head relative to the heart. Ibrahim
et al.6) also evaluated the EMG activities of the lower limb
muscles (biceps and rectus femoris, grastrocnemius and
lumbar spine) in the different Salat positions and found that
all the muscles were activated during Salats movements.
Mohd Safee et al.4) had compared the activities of the human
lower limb muscles between Salat and specific exercises
and found that Salat is useful for rehabilitation programs.
An investigation of body composition resulting during the
performance of Salat taraweeh (a special prayer performed
by the Muslims only during Ramadhan, the fasting month of
the Muslim calendar) showed that it offers benefits to overall
human health14). It has also been reported that if Salats
movements are performed regularly, there are positive
effects for the human, both physically and spiritually.

1022 J. Phys. Ther. Sci. Vol. 24, No. 10, 2012

Stretching exercise and the Salat manoeuvre have some
similarities. For example, like Salat, stretching exercise
must be performed in a relaxed manner and must be done
correctly and regularly. Stretching exercise is performed
to help body movements become easier. It is performed by
loosening up tight muscles or muscle groups and this can
also be achieved through the performance of Salat. Another
similarity between Salat and stretching is the sequence of
movements15, 16), since in one complete cycle, the movement
starts from standing and finishes in the sitting position.
This paper describes the effects of the prostration posture
of Salat on the musculoskeletal system and compares them
with the effects of the childs pose stretching exercise. The
upper body muscle activities were assessed in both postures.
The body composition parameters such as phase angle were
also measured before and after assuming each posture.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS
The participants were recruited from among students
attending the University of Malaya. Four healthy males and
four healthy females aged between 21 25years old (23 1.5)
volunteered to participate in the study. The inclusion criteria
for this study were as follows: participants should have no
history of nerve or physiological injury, no discomfort that
may have affected the movement of their upper limbs, and no
allergies to sticky plasters or cleansing wipes. Prior to data
collection, each subject signed a consent form. In general, the
research work was divided into two parts: body composition
measurement and EMG data acquisition.
Prior and subsequent to performing both Salat and the
childs pose, body composition was measured using an AIIA
Slim Manager SM-N40 Body Composition Analyzer. The
following parameters were recorded: body fat mass, muscle
mass and segmental muscle mass of the left and right arms,
trunk, and, left and right legs. EMG data were collected
during performance of Salat and the childs pose via Ag/
AgCl single electrodes (diameter 15mm, centre spacing
20mm) placed on both the left and right sides of the triceps
brachii (TB), biceps brachii (BB), pectoralis major (PM)
and scapula (SC); the reference electrode was placed at the
elbow. For TB and BB, the procedures for the electrode
placement were done in accordance with SENIAM17) and
for PM and SC, they were done with reference to Brown et
al.18). Prior to the electrodes placement, the electrode sites
were prepared by cleansing the skin surface by rubbing with
alcohol swabs to reduce impedance.
Each subject was instructed to perform the prostration
posture. The prostration posture is performed by putting
the head down until the forehead touches the ground. The
palms are held parallel to the ears, as the subject touches
the ground with flexed elbows for a few seconds. Initially,
the subjects sat on their lower legs with their feet tucked
under. After sitting for 5 seconds, they moved to perform
prostration for 10 seconds. Then, they moved back to their
initial sitting position. After 5 minutes of rest, participants
were asked to adopt the childs pose stretching posture the
same protocol. The childs pose posture is almost like the
prostration posture except for the arm position, for which

participants stretched out both their arms. The EMG signals

were sampled at 1,500Hz using a Noraxon Telemyo 2400 in
conjunction with Noraxon Myoresearch XP Master Edition
(version 1.06) software.
All the recorded EMG data were post-processed using the
Noraxon MR-XP Master 1.06 signal processing software.
The EMG signals were converted to root mean square
(RMS) values for comparison between the prostration and
the childs pose. The normalized mean and peak values of
the signal were then determined.
The non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test was carried out
to determine the significance (p<0.05) of differences in RMS
values between prostration and the childs pose. The significance (p<0.05) differences in body composition before and
after the adoption of two postures were also determined.
RESULTS
The results are presented based on the two types of
assessments: body composition measurement and EMG data
analysis.
Body composition analysis focused on the body fat mass
(BFM), muscle mass (MM), and segmental mass (right arm
(RA), left arm (LA), trunk (T), right leg (RL) and left leg
(LL). The measurements were made to compare the effect
of both postures on body composition before and after the
EMG data recording. Table 1 shows the body composition
analysis of the subjects. There were no significant differences
in body composition between before and after adoption of
either posture.
For the EMG analysis, data were recorded for one
complete cycle of each movement. For one complete cycle,
the movement began in the sitting posture and ended in the
sitting posture. We noted that the muscles were relaxed
during the sitting position and activated during prostration.
The same EMG activities were also observed during the
stretching posture.
A comparison of the mean and peak EMG values in
prostration and the childs pose from both the left and right
sides of the investigated muscles are shown in Table 2. The
EMG activities during prostration in Salat were similar to
those of the childs pose except for TB, which had a higher
activity during prostration than in the childs pose. Similar
results were found for the peak values. However, in the
peak analysis, the childs pose showed higher values than
prostration for all muscles except for TB.
The overall EMG values of the four investigated muscles
(BB, TB, PM and SC) during prostration and the childs pose
are shown in Table 3. TB had higher EMG activity during
prostration than in the childs pose.
Table 2 and Table 3 show similar EMG activities for both
postures. Higher EMG activities in TB, compared to the
other muscles were seen during prostration. The manoeuvre
of prostration requires bending the elbow 90 degrees. For
that reason, the TB muscle needs more strength than the
other muscles in that posture.
There were no significance differences in the EMG
signals of any of the muscles (BB, TB, PM and SC) between
the two postures.

1023
Table 1. Means and standard deviations (M SD) for various body composition
parameters before and after the movements
Parameters, kg

M+SD
Before

After

Body Fat Mass

Muscle Mass
Segmental Muscle Mass - Left Arm
Segmental Muscle Mass -Right Arm
Segmental Muscle Mass - Trunk
Segmental Muscle Mass - Left Leg
Segmental Muscle Mass - Right Leg

11.4 3.85
46.54 9.31
2.46 0.68
2.45 0.67
21.63 4.27
7.93 1.72
7.95 1.72

11.24 3.44
46.66 8.43
2.47 0.63
2.48 0.62
21.69 3.86
7.96 1.61
7.97 1.62

Table 2. The mean and peak RMS values during prostration and in the childs pose
Prostration
Mean, v
Childs Pose
Prostration
Peak, v
Childs Pose

BB-R

BB-L

TB-R

TB-L

PM-R

PM-L

SC-R

SC-L

15.7
14.8
43.4
56.5

14.2
21.3
34.9
77.5

91.7
28.9
197
62.9

107
69.3
248
211

20.4
21.9
37.5
62.2

31.3
30.3
64.7
111

12.8
15.0
30.8
63.6

12.8
18.3
34
96

BB-R Biceps brachii right, BB-L Biceps brachii left, TB-R Triceps brachii right, TB-L Triceps brachii left,
PM-R Pectoralis major right, PM-L Pectoralis major left, SC-R Scapula right, SC-L Scapula left

DISCUSSION
This work presents the outcome of the investigation
on two movements, namely the prostration of Salat and
the childs pose. The main difference between these two
postures is the position of the limbs. In Salat, the elbow is
flexed and the palms are held parallel to the ears, while in
the childs pose, the arms are stretched out to the front. This
study assessed body composition and EMG activities.
For the body composition analysis, no significant differences in the results were found between the state before
performing both postures and after performing them. This is
due to the short span of time of the experiment as measurements were taken immediately before and after the activities
were carried out.
For the EMG activities, we focused on the upper body
muscles. These muscles were selected because they are
involved in performing both the investigated postures.
The analyses show that all the EMG activities for all the
muscles were similar between those two postures except
for the triceps brachii. EMG activity higher than that during
the childs pose was generated in the triceps brachii during
prostration. This is expected as prostration requires one
to bend the elbows, which would generate higher muscle
activity. The Mann-Whitney test (p<0.05) showed that there
were no significant differences in muscle activities in the
RMS values between prostration and the childs pose.
We hypothesized that, apart from its spiritual effects,
Salat is useful for body health. The results of the present
study support the hypothesis. We observed that the muscles
were activated when there was a change from the sitting
position (initial posture) to prostration. For both prostration
and the childs pose, the participants were in a kneeling

Table 3. The overall mean and peak EMG values during prostration and in the childs pose

Mean, v
Peak, v

Prostration
Childs Pose
Prostration
Childs Pose

BB

TB

PM

SC

14.95
18.05
39.15
67

99.35
49.1
222.5
136.95

25.85
26.1
51.1
86.6

12.8
16.65
32.4
79.8

BBBiceps brachii, TB Triceps brachii, PM Pectoralis major,

SCScapula

position, bending to the floor and putting the head down

with the forehead touching the ground. This action may
help to strengthen the abdominal and spinal muscles. In
fact, postures similar to prostration have been suggested as
exercise therapy for patients with scoliosis19). Prostration
posture can also be observed in one of the postures in
yoga, called balasana, which is used as a treatment for hot
flushes20). During prostration, the elbows are flexed which
causes a moderate lengthening effect on the muscles of the
upper arm. It has been reported that lengthening exercises
provide more benefits to the human musculoskeletal system
than shortening exercises21, 22). By using prostration in
Salat as the case for investigation, we have proven that
Salat produces an effect similar to the effect of a standard
stretching exercise, the childs pose. As it must be performed
regularly, Salat can help to increase the flexibility and
movements of the joints which can provide various health
benefits.
In conclusion, we found that both Salat and the childs
pose Exercise generated similar EMG activities, indicating

1024 J. Phys. Ther. Sci. Vol. 24, No. 10, 2012

that Salat has a musculoskeletal effect similar to a stretching
exercise. On top of its spiritual act, Salat can be performed
as a slow and moderate physical exercise. Regarding
body composition, we postulate that performing Salat
continuously would result in a change in body composition.
However, in the current study, no significant change in
body composition was found due to the short span of time
involved between the measurements. It is expected that body
composition would show positive effects if the study were
conducted over a longer period of time.
Finally, the findings of this study indicate that Muslim
prayer is beneficial to health. To date, the general public is
not fully aware of this fact and it is very important to educate
them about this. At present, Muslims themselves mostly
consider the Salat prayer to be merely an act of spiritual
indulgence. Therefore, more research on the health benefits
of Salat should be carried out and be made known to the
general public. Thus, postures and movements of Salat can
also be used together with alternative exercise manoeuvre
such as yoga and tai-chi that can be easily carried out outside
the walls of prayer houses.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This research was supported and funded by the Malaysia
Prime Ministers Department through a Special Grant:
Project number 6602-030061/H-0000037039.
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