Standing Up from a Chair with an Asymmetrical Initial Foot Position Decreases Trunk and Masticatory Muscle Activities in Healthy Young Men.

Youngsook Bae

doi:10.3390/healthcare8040480

Abstract

This study aimed to identify the activation of lower extremity, trunk, and masticatory muscle and trunk kinematics of the initial foot position during the sit-to-stand (STS) movement. Sixteen young men participated in this cross-sectional pilot study and performed STS using both symmetrical and asymmetrical foot positions. Activation of the tibialis anterior (TA), gastrocnemius lateral head (GA), rectus femoris (RF), biceps femoris (BF), rectus abdominis, erector spinae (ES), sternocleidomastoid (SCM), upper trapezius (UT), temporalis (TE), and masseter muscles in the dominant side was determined. For trunk kinematics, head and trunk velocities, front-back (For-Back) and mediolateral (Med-Lat) weight translation rates, and trunk inclination were measured. GA, TA, BF, and RF activation significantly increased, whereas ES, SCM, UT, and TE activation significantly decreased when using the asymmetrical foot position. Head velocity, For-Back, Med-Lat, and trunk inclination were also significantly decreased. In conclusion, the asymmetrical foot position increases muscle activation in the lower extremities and decreases trunk inclination. In addition, ES, UT, and TE muscle activity decreases at the initial asymmetrical foot position.

Highlights

The average person sits and gets up from their chair an average of 60 or more times a day [1].The sit-to-stand (STS) movement, the ability to go from a sitting position to a standing position, is an important skill essential for mobility and is closely related to the ability to live an independent life [2]
Our results show that trunk inclination and paravertebral muscle activation decreased during STS with an asymmetrical foot strategy, whereas muscle activation of lower extremity muscles gastrocnemius lateral head (GA), tibialis anterior (TA), biceps femoris (BF), and rectus femoris (RF) significantly increased
Our findings suggest that the decrease in trunk inclination decreases the activity of the neck muscles and masticatory muscles when performing STS in an asymmetrical foot position

Summary

Introduction

The average person sits and gets up from their chair an average of 60 or more times a day [1].The sit-to-stand (STS) movement, the ability to go from a sitting position to a standing position, is an important skill essential for mobility and is closely related to the ability to live an independent life [2]. The entire body and lower extremity segment movements must be efficiently controlled using coordinated muscle activity during STS [3]. Forward head posture or excessive head and neck movements could affect the lower spine and lower extremities [5]; during activities performed in a closed kinematics chain, foot posture may lead to postural alterations in pelvic and spine posture [6,7]. Repetitive STS can affect the lower extremities and the head posture and masticatory muscle. As the accumulation of micro-damage caused by repetitive movements in daily life can result in changes in the body system [8], repeated STS behavior in daily life may result in changes in the activity of the neck and masticatory muscle as well

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