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The Activation Pattern of Trunk and Lower Limb Muscles in an Electromyographic Assessment; Comparison Between Ground and Treadmillwalking Publisher



Mazaheri R1 ; Sanjari MA2 ; Radmehr G1 ; Halabchi F1 ; Angoorani H3
Authors
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Authors Affiliations
  1. 1. Sports Medicine Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), Tehran, Iran
  2. 2. Biomechanics Lab, Department of Rehabilitation Basic Sciences, Rehabilitation Research Center, Faculty of Rehabilitation, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  3. 3. Department of Sports and Exercise Medicine, Hazrat Rasool-e-Akram Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Source: Asian Journal of Sports Medicine Published:2016


Abstract

Background: Due to biomechanical differences, various patterns of muscle contraction are expected to occur while walking over ground versus when walking on a treadmill. Objectives: This study aimed to compare amplitude and duration of activation of selected trunk and lower extremity muscles during over-ground and treadmill walking. Materials and Methods: Through a simple sampling method, 19 sedentary healthy men within the age range of 20-40 were selected. Surface electromyography of rectus abdominis, external oblique, longissimus and multifidus muscles as the selected trunk muscles and vastus medialis, vastus lateralis and hamstrings as the selected lower limb muscles were recorded. Results: In each gait cycle, there were no statistically significant differences in duration of selected trunk as well as lower limb muscles activitybetweentreadmillandover-ground walking. Howeverthemeanamplitude of rectus abdominis (P=0.005), longissimus (P = 0.018) and multifidus (P = 0.044) as the selected trunk muscles as well as the mean amplitude of vastus lateralis (P = 0.005) and vastus medialis (P < 0.001) as the lower limb muscles was greater on treadmill compared with over ground. Conclusions: Due to the stabilizing role of trunk and lower limb muscles during walking, these muscles seem to be active throughout the entire gait cycle. The increased muscle amplitude on treadmill can demonstrate that more motor units may be recruited during the contraction,which can be helpful in prescribing the appropriate type of exercise especially for patients with core muscle weakness. © 2016, Sports Medicine Research Center.