Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the changes in muscular activity between the left and right lower legs during gait in healthy children throughout temporal parameters of EMG and symmetry index (SI). A total of 17 healthy children (age: 8.06 ± 1.92 years) participated in this study. Five muscles on both legs were examined via the Vicon 8-camera motion analysis system synchronized with a Trigno EMG Wireless system and a Bertec force plate; onset–offset intervals were analyzed. The highest occurrence frequency of the primary activation modality was found in the stance phase. In the swing phase, onset–offset showed only a few meaningful signs of side asymmetry. The knee flexors demonstrated significant differences between the sides (p < 0.05) in terms of onset–offset intervals: biceps femoris in stance, single support, and pre-swing phases, with SI values = −6.45%, −14.29%, and −17.14%, respectively; semitendinosus in single support phase, with SI = −12.90%; lateral gastrocnemius in swing phase, with SI = −13.33%; and medial gastrocnemius in stance and single support phases, with SI = −13.33% and −23.53%, respectively. The study outcomes supply information about intra-subject variability, which is very important in follow-up examinations and comparison with other target groups of children.
Highlights
Walking is one of the most fundamental human activities and is strongly connected with health, physical condition and mental state
There, the present study focused on gait symmetry characterizations in healthy children in order to establish EMG timing instances during walking at a self-selected speed
The largest difference between the right and left sides was found in the rectus femoris (RF) muscle, while the smallest difference was in the lateral gastrocnemius (LG)
Summary
Walking is one of the most fundamental human activities and is strongly connected with health, physical condition and mental state. With the help of today’s motion analysis systems, it is possible to obtain extremely accurate gait kinematic data, calculate kinetic parameters, perform different levels of analytical calculations and predict the effectiveness of treatment. EMG is regularly used to assess the activation patterns of various muscles of the lower limbs during both normal and pathological gait [2,3,4,5,6]. Accurately assessing the parameters of normal gait and the behavior of the musculoskeletal system requires more than advanced technology and the latest tools; it is important to know exactly how to assess abnormalities. Balance, sensation, and coordination, while muscle activity plays an important role. Slight variations exist in the normal gait and EMG patterns of individuals, especially children [1,2]. Analyses showing the effect of gender on EMG signals in adults [8]
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