Effects of bodyweight support and guidance force on muscle activation during Locomat walking in people with stroke: a cross-sectional study

作者：Jianhua Lin, Guojiong Hu, Jun Guo Ran, Linyu Chen, Xian Zhang, Yanxin Zhang · 发表于：Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation · 年份：2020 · DOI：10.1186/s12984-020-0641-6 · 被引用次数：24 · 研究领域：Stroke Rehabilitation and Recovery、Prosthetics and Rehabilitation Robotics、Balance, Gait, and Falls Prevention

BACKGROUND: Locomat is a robotic exoskeleton providing guidance force and bodyweight support to facilitate intensive walking training for people with stroke. Although the Locomat has been reported to be effective in improving walking performance, the effects of training parameters on the neuromuscular control remain unclear. This study aimed to compare the muscle activities between Locomat walking and treadmill walking at a normal speed, as well as to investigate the effects of varying bodyweight support and guidance force on muscle activation patterns during Locomat walking in people with stroke. METHODS: A cross-sectional study design was employed. Participants first performed an unrestrained walking on a treadmill and then walked in the Locomat with different levels of bodyweight support (30% or 50%) and guidance force (40% or 70%) at the same speed (1.2 m/s). Surface electromyography (sEMG) of seven muscles of the affected leg was recorded. The sEMG envelope was time-normalised and averaged over gait cycles. Mean sEMG amplitude was then calculated by normalising the sEMG amplitude with respect to the peak amplitude during treadmill walking for statistical analysis. A series of Non-parametric test and post hoc analysis were performed with a significance level of 0.05. RESULTS: Fourteen participants with stroke were recruited at the Yangzhi Affiliated Rehabilitation Hospital of Tongji University (female n = 1; mean age 46.1 ± 11.1 years). Only the mean sEMG amplitude of vas...