Trunk muscle activity during walking in persons with multiple sclerosis: The influence of body weight support¹

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Swinnen, Eva^{a; d; *} | Baeyens, Jean-Pierre^{a; c} | Pintens, Seppe^c | Van Nieuwenhoven, Johan^b | Ilsbroukx, Stephan^b | Clijsen, Ron^c | Buyl, Ronald^e | Goossens, Maggie^f | Meeusen, Romain^{a; d} | Kerckhofs, Eric^{a; d}

Affiliations: [a] Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy, Advanced Rehabilitation Technology and Science (ARTS), Brussels, Belgium | [b] National Multiple Sclerosis Centre, Melsbroek, Belgium | [c] University College Physiotherapy Thim van der Laan, Landquart, Switzerland | [d] Center for Neurosciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium | [e] Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, Brussels, Belgium | [f] University College Artesis, Antwerp, Belgium

Correspondence: [*] Address for correspondence: Eva Swinnen, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy, Advanced Rehabilitation Technology and Science (ARTS), Laarbeeklaan 103, B-1090 Brussels, Belgium. Tel.:/Fax: +32 2 4774530; E-mail: [email protected]

Note: [1] Institutional Review: The Ethical Committees of the University Hospital UZ Brussels (BUN B14320084299) and the National Multiple Sclerosis centre at Melsbroek (OG033) approved the protocol. The tests were carried out at the National Multiple Sclerosis centre, Melsbroek, Belgium Written informed consent was obtained from all study participants.

Abstract: Background:Although the trunk is important for maintaining balance during walking only very limited information about the trunk muscle activity during walking with body weight support (BWS) is reported in literature. Objective:The aim of this study was to measure the effect of BWS on the trunk muscle activity during treadmill walking. Methods:14 persons with multiple sclerosis and 14 healthy persons walked on a treadmill with 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 50% and 70% BWS. Bilateral EMG measurements (surface electrodes) on the m. rectus abdominis, m. obliquus externus, m. erector spinae and m. multifidus were performed. The maximal muscle activation was presented as a percentage of a performance related reference contraction. A repeated measures ANOVA with simple contrasts was applied (SPSS20). Results:In general when comparing walking with BWS with walking with 0% BWS there is an increase in m. obliquus externus activity and a decrease in back muscle activity. With increasing percentages of BWS an increase in activity of the abdominal muscles and a decrease in back muscle activity was found, with most changes in high percentages BWS. Conclusion:Based on the results, it is recommended to decrease the percentage BWS as fast as possible beneath 30% BWS.

Keywords: Abdominal muscles, back muscles, body weight support, electromyography, EMG, gait, gait analysis, multiple sclerosis, rehabilitation, treadmill, walking

DOI: 10.3233/NRE-131044

Journal: NeuroRehabilitation, vol. 34, no. 2, pp. 323-335, 2014