The concomitant recruitment of agonist and antagonist muscles crossing a joint is known as muscle co-activation. The effect of the kind on the co-contractions of lower limb muscles has been considered several times in the literature and is not negligible in the explanation of the effects on walking. The aim of this work is, therefore, to identify the possible differences related to the gender of co-contractions between the lateral gastrocnemius (GL) and the lateral vastii (VL) for the stability of the knee during walking. For this purpose, 48 subjects were recruited, 24 of them female and 22 male, and a high number of steps was considered for each subject to take into account the high variability of muscle activation during walking. Therefore, the SEMG signals were analyzed through statistical gait analysis (SGA). The periods of co-contraction were identified as the overlapping periods between GL and VL activities and there were particular differences between males and females. In addition to the differences in co-contraction intervals, significant differences in terms of recruitment frequency (OCF) were observed. A particular case is when the GL has activation 2 in which the OCF is very similar in males and females. These results are supported by statistical analysis, three out of four co-contraction regions are significantly different (p<0.05) from a statistical point of view. In conclusion, the results of this study suggest the presence of GL and VL co-contraction differences between the male and female gender, mainly in terms of frequency of simultaneous recruitment of the two muscles, rather than in terms of size of co-contraction regions. What has been found may be useful to better understand the differences between female and male populations in the different mechanisms of gait and to develop biomechanical models differentiated by gender, in order to study the stability of the knee joint.
Il reclutamento concomitante di muscoli agonisti e antagonisti che attraversano un’articolazione è nota come co-attivazione muscolare. L’effetto del genere sulle co-contrazioni dei muscoli degli arti inferiori è stato più volte preso in considerazione in letteratura e risulta essere non trascurabile nella spiegazione degli effetti sul cammino. Questo lavoro di tesi ha, quindi, l’obiettivo di identificare le possibili differenze legate al genere delle co-contrazioni tra il gastrocnemio laterale (GL) e il vasto laterale (VL) per la stabilità del ginocchio durante il cammino. Sono stati reclutati a tal fine 48 soggetti di cui 24 di sesso femminile e 22 di sesso maschile ed è stato considerato per ogni soggetto un numero elevato di passi per tenere conto dell'elevata variabilità dell'attivazione muscolare durante il cammino. Pertanto, i segnali sEMG sono stati analizzati attraverso la statistical gait analysis (SGA). I periodi di co-contrazione sono stati individuati come i periodo di sovrapposizione tra le attività di GL e VL e sono risultate particolari differenze tra i maschi e le femmine. Oltre alle differenze negli intervalli di co-contrazione, sono state osservate delle differenze significative in termini di frequenza di reclutamento (OCF). Caso particolare è quando il GL ha attivazione 2 in cui l'OCF è molto simile nei maschi e nelle femmine. Questi risultati sono supportati dall’analisi statistica, tre regioni di co-contrazione su quattro risultano significativamente differenti (p<0.05) dal punto di vista statistico. In conclusione, i risultati del presente studio suggeriscono la presenza di differenze di co-contrazione GL e VL tra il genere maschile e femminile, principalmente in termini di frequenza di reclutamento contemporaneo dei due muscoli, più che in termini delle dimensioni delle regioni di co-contrazione. Quanto trovato può risultare utile per capire meglio le differenze tra popolazioni femminili e maschili nei diversi meccanismi del cammino e per sviluppare modelli biomeccanici differenziati per genere, al fine di approfondire la stabilità dell’articolazione del ginocchio.
ANTAGONISMO E SINERGIA DEI MUSCOLI COINVOLTI NEL MANTENIMENTO DELLA STABILITÁ DELL'ARTICOLAZIONE DEL GINOCCHIO DURANTE IL CAMMINO ADULTO
PETRUCCELLI, CECILIA
2019/2020
Abstract
The concomitant recruitment of agonist and antagonist muscles crossing a joint is known as muscle co-activation. The effect of the kind on the co-contractions of lower limb muscles has been considered several times in the literature and is not negligible in the explanation of the effects on walking. The aim of this work is, therefore, to identify the possible differences related to the gender of co-contractions between the lateral gastrocnemius (GL) and the lateral vastii (VL) for the stability of the knee during walking. For this purpose, 48 subjects were recruited, 24 of them female and 22 male, and a high number of steps was considered for each subject to take into account the high variability of muscle activation during walking. Therefore, the SEMG signals were analyzed through statistical gait analysis (SGA). The periods of co-contraction were identified as the overlapping periods between GL and VL activities and there were particular differences between males and females. In addition to the differences in co-contraction intervals, significant differences in terms of recruitment frequency (OCF) were observed. A particular case is when the GL has activation 2 in which the OCF is very similar in males and females. These results are supported by statistical analysis, three out of four co-contraction regions are significantly different (p<0.05) from a statistical point of view. In conclusion, the results of this study suggest the presence of GL and VL co-contraction differences between the male and female gender, mainly in terms of frequency of simultaneous recruitment of the two muscles, rather than in terms of size of co-contraction regions. What has been found may be useful to better understand the differences between female and male populations in the different mechanisms of gait and to develop biomechanical models differentiated by gender, in order to study the stability of the knee joint.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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Tesi Cecilia Petruccelli.pdf
Open Access dal 17/12/2023
Descrizione: Studio delle differenze delle co-contrazioni tra GL e VL tra il genere maschile e femminile per la stabilità dell'articolazione del ginocchio durante il cammino
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12075/3763