Activation of the three deltoid muscle portions during common strengthening exercises: A systematic review.

Background: The three portions of the deltoid muscle (anterior, middle, and posterior) are primary movers of several strengthening exercises and their contribution to different exercises can be measured using surface electromyography.

Purpose: To systematically review studies that evaluated the activation of commonly used exercises and their variations.

Methods: A search was conducted in PubMed (MEDLINE), Web of Science, Scopus and SciELO.