Date of Award

2008

Document Type

Scholarly Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)

Department

Physical Therapy

First Advisor

Cindy Flom-Meland

Keywords

Body Weight -- physiology; Electromyography; Gait -- physiology

Abstract

Background and Purpose: The purpose of this study was to collect data on the effects of incline and decline surfaces, combined with partial body weight support (PBWS), on muscle activity of the lower extremities during treadmill walking for normal subjects. By collecting lower extremity electromyographical (EM G) data we hope that the information may be applied to the development of treatment alternatives or future research options for patients with both neurological and orthopedic dysfunction.

Methods: Twenty subjects (14 female, 6 male) were recruited for this study. EMG data was collected for lower extremity muscle activity during conditions of level, incline and decline trials with 20% body weight support and without body weight support.

Results: A Repeated-Measures ANOVA was used for comparison of variability between muscle activity in all the conditions. The condition of incline without body weight support was found to have the greatest muscle activity for all muscles with the exception of the biceps femoris in which it had the second greatest muscle activity.

Conclusion: By collecting lower extremity EMG data on normal subjects during treadmill ambulation, we hope that the results of this study may be applied to the development of treatment alternatives or future research options. Situations of incline and decline treadmill ambulation, with and without PBWS, should be explored as treatment options for patients with both neurological and orthopedic dysfunction.

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