Journal
JOURNAL OF ELECTROMYOGRAPHY AND KINESIOLOGY
Volume 23, Issue 5, Pages 1145-1149Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.jelekin.2013.06.006
Keywords
Falls; Biomechanics; Cocontraction; Elderly; Dual task gait
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Funding
- Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP)
- Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento a Pesquisa (CNPq)
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Objective: Investigate the influence of apprehensive gait on activation and cocontraction of lower limb muscles of younger and older female adults. Methods: Data of 17 younger (21.47 +/- 2.06 yr) and 18 older women (65.33 +/- 3.14 yr) were considered for this study. Participants walked on the treadmill at two different conditions: normal gait and apprehensive gait. The surface electromyographic signals (EMG) were recorded during both conditions on: rectus femoris (RF), vastus lateralis (VL), vastus medialis (VM), biceps femoris (BF), tibialis anterior (TA), gastrocnemius lateralis (GL), and soleus (SO). Results: Apprehensive gait promoted greater activation of thigh muscles than normal gait (F = 5.34 and p = 0.007, for significant main effect of condition; RF, p = 0.002; VM, p < 0.001; VL, p = 0.003; and BF, p = 0.001). Older adults had greater cocontraction of knee and ankle stabilizer muscles than younger women (F = 4.05 and p = 0.019, for significant main effect of groups; VM/BF, p = 0.010; TA/GL, p = 0.007; and TA/SO, p = 0.002). Conclusion: Apprehensive gait promoted greater activation of thigh muscles and older adults had greater cocontraction of knee and ankle stabilizer muscles. Thus, apprehensive gait may leads to increased percentage of neuromuscular capacity, which is associated with greater cocontraction and contribute to the onset of fatigue and increased risk of falling in older people. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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