Innate Muscle Patterns Reproduction During Afferent Somatosensory Input With Vojta Therapy in Healthy Adults. A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Ismael Sanz-Esteban,Carmen Jimenez-Antona,Roberto Cano-De-La-Cuerda,Ana San-Martin-Gomez,Esther Monge-Pereira,Cecilia Estrada-Barranco,Jose Ignacio Serrano,Pablo Cesar Garcia-Sanchez

doi:10.1109/tnsre.2021.3120369

Abstract

Vojta therapy describes stereotypic widespread motor responses as a pattern of tonic muscle contractions during a peripherical pressure stimulation. The present work proposes to characterize the responses at muscles level to a specific tactile input based on Vojta therapy, assessed by sEMG, compared to a sham stimulation in healthy subjects. Surface electromyography (sEMG) signal was acquired with dipolar electrodes placed at wrist extensors of both forearms, right tibialis anterior, and top part of rectus abdominus, ground channel placed over the right olecranon. It was amplified and digitized by a 4-channel hub Biosignalsplux device (Plux Wireless Biosignals S.A., Lisboa, Portugal), sampled at 1000 Hz with 16-bit per channel. A continuous 10-minute record of the sEMG signal from the four electrodes were registered. Resting EEG during the first minute before the stimulation period was recorded by 64 active electrodes. Statistically significant differences were showed between sham and experimental group. Experimental group participants were subjected to cluster analysis based on their muscle activation patterns, generating three different models of activation. Differences in the previous resting cortical activity in left superior frontal area were found between clusters that activated limb muscles and the cluster that did not. Vojta specific stimulation area activates innate muscle responses assessed by sEMG in healthy subjects, compared to a sham stimulation. This characterization might be helpful to the prescription and application of Vojta therapy in an individual-basis for non-neurophysiologically damaged adult subjects.

Highlights

D IFFERENT top-down approaches have been defined, consisting on defining the rehabilitation therapies based on the state of the brain after brain its injury, and based on some elements such as learning skills and error-drive-learning
Vojta specific stimulation area activates innate muscle responses assessed by Surface electromyography (sEMG) in healthy subjects, compared to a sham stimulation
A stereotypic widespread motor response was observed by Vojta during a maintained peripherical pressure stimulation, as a pattern of tonic muscle contractions in both sides of the neck, trunk, and limbs resulting of a spatial summation leading to postural control improvement

Summary

Introduction

D IFFERENT top-down approaches have been defined, consisting on defining the rehabilitation therapies based on the state of the brain after brain its injury, and based on some elements such as learning skills and error-drive-learning. Bottom-up approaches have been shown to be effective in causing changes at central level through peripheral sensory stimuli, which in turn influence on muscle activity, postural control and locomotion systems [1], [2]. Under this paradigm Vojta therapy is a bottom-up approach, known as reflex locomotion, and It was defined and deeply developed by the neurologist Václav Vojta at the latest 50’s. A stereotypic widespread motor response was observed by Vojta during a maintained peripherical pressure stimulation, as a pattern of tonic muscle contractions in both sides of the neck, trunk, and limbs resulting of a spatial summation leading to postural control improvement. Reflex creeping and reflex rolling, both Vojta’s coordination complexes contain all the “building blocks” employed at any human posture and movement up until free walking [5]

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