Electromyography activities in patients with lower lumbar disc herniation

BACKGROUND: Lumbar disc herniation (LDH) can affect lower limb muscle function resulting in an abnormal gait. This study aims to use surface electromyography (SEMG) to evaluate patients with L [Formula: see text] /L [Formula: see text] and L [Formula: see text] /S [Formula: see text] LDH throughout muscle movement. METHODS: Twenty L [Formula: see text] /L [Formula: see text] LDH patients (L5 Group), twenty L [Formula: see text] /S [Formula: see text] LDH patients (S1 Group), and twenty healthy controls (Healthy) were recruited for the study. SEMG of bilateral tibialis anterior (TA) and lateral gastrocnemius (LG) muscles of patients were recorded using the DELSYS Wireless EMG System (Trigno [Formula: see text] Wireless Systems, Delsys Inc., USA). Root-mean-square (RMS), mean power frequency (MPF), and median frequency (MF) were compared between bilateral limbs in each participant. RESULTS: Reduced MPF and MF was found in TA measurements of the L5 Group and LG measurements of the S1 Group. The MPF and MF of the TA of symptomatic limbs of the L5 Group were reduced when compared to asymptomatic limbs ([Formula: see text] 0.006, [Formula: see text] 0.012, [Formula: see text] 0.05), and there were no significant differences in LG measurements ([Formula: see text] 0.05). The LG MPF and MF of the S1 Group in symptomatic limbs were reduced when compared to asymptomatic limbs ([Formula: see text] 0.006, [Formula: see text] 0.017, [Formula: see text] 0.05), and there were no significant differences in TA measurements ([Formula: see text] 0.05). Although there were no significant differences in RMS between bilateral limbs of the L5 and S1 Groups, we found some changes in RMS curves. First, compared to asymptomatic limbs of L [Formula: see text] /L [Formula: see text] LDH patients, [Formula: see text]-peaks in the TA of symptomatic limbs appeared earlier. Second, two peaks in the LG of symptomatic limbs were found in L [Formula: see text] /S [Formula: see text] LDH patients. CONCLUSION: TA is affected in patients with LDH of L [Formula: see text] /L [Formula: see text] , and LG is affected in patients with LDH of L [Formula: see text] /S [Formula: see text]. As demonstrated, SEMG can identify LDH-related muscle dysfunction.