Statistical analysis of surface electromyographic signal for the assessment of rectus femoris modalities of activation during gait.

Aim of the present study was to identify the different modalities of activation of rectus femoris (RF) during gait at self-selected speed, by a statistical analysis of surface electromyographic signal from a large number (hundreds) of strides per subject. The analysis of ten healthy adults showed that RF is characterized by different activation modalities within different strides of the same walk. RF most recurrent modality (observed in 53 ± 6% of total strides) consists of three activations, at the beginning of gait cycle, around foot-off and in the terminal swing. Further two modalities of RF activation differ from the most recurrent one because of the lack of activity around foot-off (26 ± 6%) or the splitting into two (or three) small activations around stance-to-swing transition (17 ± 2%). Despite the large variability, our statistical analysis allowed to identify two patterns of activation that characterize completely the behavior of rectus femoris during gait. The first pattern, around stance-to-swing transition, can be monophasic, biphasic or triphasic and is necessary to control knee extension and hip flexion from pre-swing to initial swing. The second pattern, from terminal swing to following mid-stance, is likely due to the contribution of low-level RF activity and cross-talk from surrounding vastii.

[1]  M. Knaflitz,et al.  A statistical method for the measurement of muscle activation intervals from surface myoelectric signal during gait , 1998, IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering.

[2]  D. Sutherland.  The evolution of clinical gait analysis part l: kinesiological EMG. , 2001, Gait & posture.

[3]  Carlo J. De Luca,et al.  The Use of Surface Electromyography in Biomechanics , 1997 .

[4]  J. Perry,et al.  Timing and intensity of vastus muscle activity during functional activities in subjects with and without patellofemoral pain. , 1996, Physical therapy.

[5]  R. B. Davis,et al.  Using surface electrodes for the evaluation of the rectus femoris, vastus medialis and vastus lateralis muscles in children with cerebral palsy , 1997 .

[6]  Dario Farina,et al.  Analysis of intramuscular electromyogram signals , 2009, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences.

[7]  Hermanus J. Hermens,et al.  The recommendations for sensors and sensor placement procedures for surface electromyography , 1999 .

[8]  G. Karst,et al.  Onset timing of electromyographic activity in the vastus medialis oblique and vastus lateralis muscles in subjects with and without patellofemoral pain syndrome. , 1995, Physical therapy.

[9]  D. Winter,et al.  Crosstalk in surface electromyography: Theoretical and practical estimates. , 1994, Journal of electromyography and kinesiology : official journal of the International Society of Electrophysiological Kinesiology.

[10]  M P Kadaba,et al.  Measurement of lower extremity kinematics during level walking , 1990, Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society.

[11]  R. Shiavi,et al.  Electromyographic gait assessment, Part 1: Adult EMG profiles and walking speed. , 1987, Journal of rehabilitation research and development.

[12]  C. A. Byrne,et al.  Is rectus femoris really a part of quadriceps? Assessment of rectus femoris function during gait in able-bodied adults. , 2004, Gait & posture.

[13]  P. Hodges,et al.  Delayed onset of electromyographic activity of vastus medialis obliquus relative to vastus lateralis in subjects with patellofemoral pain syndrome. , 2001, Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

[14]  Werner Wolf,et al.  Onset Detection in Surface Electromyographic Signals: A Systematic Comparison of Methods , 2001, EURASIP J. Adv. Signal Process..

[15]  J. Perry,et al.  Gait Analysis , 2024 .

[16]  D. Kerrigan,et al.  Rectus femoris: its role in normal gait. , 1999, Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation.

[17]  Richard A. Brand,et al.  The biomechanics and motor control of human gait: Normal, elderly, and pathological , 1992 .

[18]  D. Winter,et al.  EMG profiles during normal human walking: stride-to-stride and inter-subject variability. , 1987, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.

[19]  J. Duysens,et al.  Speed related changes in muscle activity from normal to very slow walking speeds. , 2004, Gait & posture.

[20]  C. Moore,et al.  Simulated gait patterns: the resulting effects on gait parameters, dynamic electromyography, joint moments, and physiological cost index , 1996 .

[21]  Murray Mp,et al.  Kinematic and EMG patterns during slow, free, and fast walking , 1984, Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society.

[22]  R. Shiavi.  Electromyographic patterns in adult locomotion: a comprehensive review. , 1985, Journal of rehabilitation research and development.

[23]  K Mitchell Barr,et al.  Surface electromyography does not accurately reflect rectus femoris activity during gait: impact of speed and crouch on vasti-to-rectus crosstalk. , 2010, Gait & posture.

[24]  Alfred D. Grant.  Gait Analysis: Normal and Pathological Function , 2010 .

[25]  C. Charalambous.  Repeatability of Kinematic, Kinetic, and Electromyographic Data in Normal Adult Gait , 2014 .

[26]  M Knaflitz,et al.  Normative EMG activation patterns of school-age children during gait. , 2010, Gait & posture.

[27]  K R Kaufman,et al.  Double-blind study of botulinum A toxin injections into the gastrocnemius muscle in patients with cerebral palsy. , 1999, Gait & posture.