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Differences in neuromuscular activity of ankle stabilizing muscles during postural disturbances: A gender-specific analysis
- Source :
- Gait & Posture. 61:226-231
- Publication Year :
- 2018
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2018.
-
Abstract
- The purpose was to examine gender differences in ankle stabilizing muscle activation during postural disturbances. Seventeen participants (9 females: 27 ± 2yrs., 1.69 ± 0.1 m, 63 ± 7 kg; 8 males: 29 ± 2yrs., 1.81 ± 0.1 m; 83 ± 7 kg) were included in the study. After familiarization on a split-belt-treadmill, participants walked (1 m/s) while 15 right-sided perturbations were randomly applied 200 ms after initial heel contact. Muscle activity of M. tibialis anterior (TA), peroneus longus (PL) and gastrocnemius medialis (GM) was recorded during unperturbed and perturbed walking. The root mean square (RMS; [%]) was analyzed within 200 ms after perturbation. Co-activation was quantified as ratio of antagonist (GM)/agonist (TA) EMG-RMS during unperturbed and perturbed walking. Time to onset was calculated (ms). Data were analyzed descriptively (mean ± SD) followed by three-way-ANOVA (gender/condition/muscle; α = 0.05). Perturbed walking elicited higher EMG activity compared to normal walking for TA and PL in both genders (p 0.000). RMS amplitude gender comparisons revealed an interaction between gender and condition (F = 4.6, p = 0.049) and, a triple interaction among gender, condition and muscle (F = 4.7, p = 0.02). Women presented significantly higher EMG-RMS [%] PL amplitude than men during perturbed walking (mean difference = 209.6%, 95% confidence interval = -367.0 to -52.2%, p 0.000). Co-activation showed significant lower values for perturbed compared to normal walking (p 0.000), without significant gender differences for both walking conditions. GM activated significantly earlier than TA and PL (p 0.01) without significant differences between the muscle activation onsets of men and women (p = 0.7). The results reflect that activation strategies of the ankle encompassing muscles differ between genders. In provoked stumbling, higher PL EMG activity in women compared to men is present. Future studies should aim to elucidate if this specific behavior has any relationship with ankle injury occurrence between genders.
- Subjects :
- Adult
Male
Agonist
medicine.medical_specialty
medicine.drug_class
Posture
Biophysics
Walking
03 medical and health sciences
Sex Factors
0302 clinical medicine
Physical medicine and rehabilitation
Reaction Time
medicine
Peroneus longus
Humans
Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
Ankle Injuries
Muscle activity
Muscle, Skeletal
Time to onset
Gait
Electromyography
business.industry
Rehabilitation
Antagonist
Muscle activation
030229 sport sciences
Cross-Sectional Studies
medicine.anatomical_structure
Female
Ankle
business
human activities
Neuromuscular activity
Ankle Joint
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 09666362
- Volume :
- 61
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Gait & Posture
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....f6802e7c5a5d07afbd7157225b0552dc