Article

It is unclear whether muscle contraction is necessary to increase quasi-joint
stiffness (QJS) of the ankle joint during gait in patients with hemiparesis. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between QJS and
muscle activation at the ankle joint in the stance phase during gait in patients
with hemiparesis. Spatiotemporal and kinetic gait parameters and activation of
the medial head of the gastrocnemius (MG), soleus (SOL), and tibialis anterior
(TA) muscles were measured using a 3-dimensional motion analysis system and
surface electromyography, in 21 patients with hemiparesis due to stroke and 10
healthy individuals. In the early stance, the QJS on the paretic side (PS) of
patients was greater than that on the non-PS (p<0.05) and not significantly
correlated with activation of the three muscles. In the middle stance, the QJS on
the PS was lower than that on the non-PS (p<0.05) and that on the right side of
controls (p<0.001), which was positively correlated with activation of the MG
(r=0.51, p<0.05) and SOL (r=0.49, p<0.05). In the patients with hemiparesis,
plantarflexor activation may not contribute to QJS in the early stance. On the
other hand, QJS in the middle stance may be attributed to activation of the MG
and SOL. Our findings suggest that activation of the MG and SOL in the middle
stance on the PS may require to be enhanced to increase QJS during gait in
patients with hemiparesis.
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Langue : ANGLAIS