Muscle activation and rating of perceived exertion of typically developing children during DRY and aquatic treadmill walking

• Published in: Journal of electromyography and kinesiology 2023-02, Vol.68, p.102737-102737, Article 102737
• Main Authors: Harrington, Joseph W., Anguiano-Hernandez, Jose G., Kingston, David C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Aquatic Therapy; Child; Electromyography; Electromyography - methods; Gait - physiology; Humans; Muscle, Skeletal - physiology; Physical Exertion; Treadmill Walking; Walking - physiology
• ISSN: 1050-6411; 1873-5711
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jelekin.2022.102737

Aquatic treadmill gait training is a poorly understood rehabilitation method that alters bodyweight support, increases lower limb resistance, and assists with postural stability. This training could be an attractive tool for clinical populations with balance control issues or limited weight-bearing prescriptions for the lower limb. As a first step, the purpose of this study was to quantify differences in mean muscle activity of the tibialis anterior, rectus femoris, medial gastrocnemius, and semitendinosus, and perceived exertion (RPE) in typically developing children (7:8 M:F, age = 11.3 ± 4.1 years, 1.46 ± 0.18 m, and 44.2 ± 16.8 kg) during dry and aquatic treadmill walking at 75 %, 100 %, and 125 % self-selected speed. We hypothesized that the greatest mean muscle activity, normalized to percent maximum voluntary contraction and averaged across all strides, would be observed during 125 % dry treadmill walking and that aquatic treadmill walking would produce lower RPE. Overall, aquatic treadmill walking reduced mean medial gastrocnemius activity by 50.2 % (padj