Article

The most common functional motor goal of lower extremity rehabilitation is to
improve walking ability. For reasons of feasibility, safety or intensity, devices
are frequently used to facilitate or augment gait training. The objective of this
study was to compare the muscle activity patterns of the rectus femoris and
semitendinosus muscles during four conditions: overground walking, treadmill
walking, stationary cycling, and elliptical training. Ten healthy adults (six
male, four female; mean age 22.7+/-2.9 years, range 20-29) participated and
surface electromyographic data were recorded. Linear envelope curves were
generated and time normalized from 0 to 100% cycle. The mean plus three standard
deviations from a static trial was used as the threshold for muscle activity.
Repeated measures analysis of variance procedures were used to detect differences
between conditions. Elliptical training demonstrated greater rectus femoris
activity and greater rectus femoris/semitendinosus coactivation than all other
conditions. Consistent with previous work, treadmill walking demonstrated greater
rectus femoris activity than overground walking. Minimal differences in
semitendinosus activation were observed between conditions, limited to lower peak
activity during cycling compared to treadmill walking. These results provide
normative values for rectus femoris and semitendinosus activation for different
locomotor training methods and may assist in selecting the most appropriate
training device for specific patients. Clinicians and researchers should also
consider the kinematic and kinetic differences between tasks, which cannot
necessarily be inferred from muscle activation patterns.
CI - Copyright (c) 2010. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Langue : ANGLAIS