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Effects of Dominant and Nondominant Limb Immobilization on Muscle Activation and Physical Demand during Ambulation with Axillary Crutches

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of how limb dominance and joint immobilization alter markers of physical demand and muscle activation during ambulation with axillary crutches. In a crossover, counterbalanced study design, physically active females completed ambulation trials...

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Autores principales: Bellenfant, Kara B., Robbins, Gracie L., Rogers, Rebecca R., Kopec, Thomas J., Ballmann, Christopher G.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7931098/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33572237
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jfmk6010016
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author Bellenfant, Kara B.
Robbins, Gracie L.
Rogers, Rebecca R.
Kopec, Thomas J.
Ballmann, Christopher G.
author_facet Bellenfant, Kara B.
Robbins, Gracie L.
Rogers, Rebecca R.
Kopec, Thomas J.
Ballmann, Christopher G.
author_sort Bellenfant, Kara B.
collection PubMed
description The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of how limb dominance and joint immobilization alter markers of physical demand and muscle activation during ambulation with axillary crutches. In a crossover, counterbalanced study design, physically active females completed ambulation trials with three conditions: (1) bipedal walking (BW), (2) axillary crutch ambulation with their dominant limb (DOM), and (3) axillary crutch ambulation with their nondominant limb (NDOM). During the axillary crutch ambulation conditions, the non-weight-bearing knee joint was immobilized at a 30-degree flexion angle with a postoperative knee stabilizer. For each trial/condition, participants ambulated at 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0 mph for five minutes at each speed. Heart rate (HR) and rate of perceived exertion (RPE) were monitored throughout. Surface electromyography (sEMG) was used to record muscle activation of the medial gastrocnemius (MG), soleus (SOL), and tibialis anterior (TA) unilaterally on the weight-bearing limb. Biceps brachii (BB) and triceps brachii (TB) sEMG were measured bilaterally. sEMG signals for each immobilization condition were normalized to corresponding values for BW.HR (p < 0.001) and RPE (p < 0.001) were significantly higher for both the DOM and NDOM conditions compared to BW but no differences existed between the DOM and NDOM conditions (p > 0.05). No differences in lower limb muscle activation were noted for any muscles between the DOM and NDOM conditions (p > 0.05). Regardless of condition, BB activation ipsilateral to the ambulating limb was significantly lower during 0.6 mph (p = 0.005) and 0.8 mph (p = 0.016) compared to the same speeds for BB on the contralateral side. Contralateral TB activation was significantly higher during 0.6 mph compared to 0.8 mph (p = 0.009) and 1.0 mph (p = 0.029) irrespective of condition. In conclusion, limb dominance appears to not alter lower limb muscle activation and walking intensity while using axillary crutches. However, upper limb muscle activation was asymmetrical during axillary crutch use and largely dependent on speed. These results suggest that functional asymmetry may exist in upper limbs but not lower limbs during assistive device supported ambulation.
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spelling pubmed-79310982021-07-21 Effects of Dominant and Nondominant Limb Immobilization on Muscle Activation and Physical Demand during Ambulation with Axillary Crutches Bellenfant, Kara B. Robbins, Gracie L. Rogers, Rebecca R. Kopec, Thomas J. Ballmann, Christopher G. J Funct Morphol Kinesiol Article The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of how limb dominance and joint immobilization alter markers of physical demand and muscle activation during ambulation with axillary crutches. In a crossover, counterbalanced study design, physically active females completed ambulation trials with three conditions: (1) bipedal walking (BW), (2) axillary crutch ambulation with their dominant limb (DOM), and (3) axillary crutch ambulation with their nondominant limb (NDOM). During the axillary crutch ambulation conditions, the non-weight-bearing knee joint was immobilized at a 30-degree flexion angle with a postoperative knee stabilizer. For each trial/condition, participants ambulated at 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0 mph for five minutes at each speed. Heart rate (HR) and rate of perceived exertion (RPE) were monitored throughout. Surface electromyography (sEMG) was used to record muscle activation of the medial gastrocnemius (MG), soleus (SOL), and tibialis anterior (TA) unilaterally on the weight-bearing limb. Biceps brachii (BB) and triceps brachii (TB) sEMG were measured bilaterally. sEMG signals for each immobilization condition were normalized to corresponding values for BW.HR (p < 0.001) and RPE (p < 0.001) were significantly higher for both the DOM and NDOM conditions compared to BW but no differences existed between the DOM and NDOM conditions (p > 0.05). No differences in lower limb muscle activation were noted for any muscles between the DOM and NDOM conditions (p > 0.05). Regardless of condition, BB activation ipsilateral to the ambulating limb was significantly lower during 0.6 mph (p = 0.005) and 0.8 mph (p = 0.016) compared to the same speeds for BB on the contralateral side. Contralateral TB activation was significantly higher during 0.6 mph compared to 0.8 mph (p = 0.009) and 1.0 mph (p = 0.029) irrespective of condition. In conclusion, limb dominance appears to not alter lower limb muscle activation and walking intensity while using axillary crutches. However, upper limb muscle activation was asymmetrical during axillary crutch use and largely dependent on speed. These results suggest that functional asymmetry may exist in upper limbs but not lower limbs during assistive device supported ambulation. MDPI 2021-02-09 /pmc/articles/PMC7931098/ /pubmed/33572237 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jfmk6010016 Text en © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Bellenfant, Kara B.
Robbins, Gracie L.
Rogers, Rebecca R.
Kopec, Thomas J.
Ballmann, Christopher G.
Effects of Dominant and Nondominant Limb Immobilization on Muscle Activation and Physical Demand during Ambulation with Axillary Crutches
title Effects of Dominant and Nondominant Limb Immobilization on Muscle Activation and Physical Demand during Ambulation with Axillary Crutches
title_full Effects of Dominant and Nondominant Limb Immobilization on Muscle Activation and Physical Demand during Ambulation with Axillary Crutches
title_fullStr Effects of Dominant and Nondominant Limb Immobilization on Muscle Activation and Physical Demand during Ambulation with Axillary Crutches
title_full_unstemmed Effects of Dominant and Nondominant Limb Immobilization on Muscle Activation and Physical Demand during Ambulation with Axillary Crutches
title_short Effects of Dominant and Nondominant Limb Immobilization on Muscle Activation and Physical Demand during Ambulation with Axillary Crutches
title_sort effects of dominant and nondominant limb immobilization on muscle activation and physical demand during ambulation with axillary crutches
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7931098/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33572237
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jfmk6010016
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