EMG analysis of lower limb muscle activation pattern during pedaling: Experiments and computer simulations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the performance of the recumbent bicycle. The recumbent bicycle is a type of bicycle usually used to train or exercise a patient or the elderly. A recumbent bicycle was specially constructed for this study by researchers. The speed and power can be recorded and displayed on the monitor of the recumbent bicycle. The experiments consisted of four steps with different start-knee angle (α=85°, 105°, 125°, 145°). The activation and force of lower limb muscles were measured and calculated using an electromyography (EMG) and a computer simulation respectively. The maximum of intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and their differences were calculated to compare between the data of different muscles. The data obtained from test and retest was shown to have a good reliability on all of the measured muscles. The ICC is 0.93 for biceps femoris (BF) of step 2 (α=105°). The maximum muscle activation and muscle force were also measured at step 2. The BF EMG of step 2 was shown to be significantly different (p<0.05) from other steps. Overall, the recumbent bicycle was shown to be similar in function with an upright bicycle. The frequency use of the recumbent bicycle is predicted to increase for a patient and the elderly due to stable seat structure which have bucket shape.

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