EMG Signal Analysis for Identifying Walking Patterns of Normal Healthy Individuals

Surface electromyography is the technique for measuring levels of muscle activity. When a muscle contracts, electrical activity generated as action potentials propagate along the muscle fibers. There are two types of Surface EMG (SEMG)-Static scanning SEMG and Dynamic SEMG. In Dynamic SEMG, electrodes are attached to the skin and muscle activity is measured and graphed as the patient moves through various ranges of motion. The authors in this paper discuss the use of EMG for analyzing different phases of walk by acquiring the surface EMG from Gastrocnemius and Soleus muscles of the leg .with the subjects walking at two self selected pacefast and slow. These surface EMG signals picked up during the muscle activity are interfaced with a PC system via Biometrics EMG acquisition system. The acquired signals were processed and analyzed using filtering techniques. The results showed a marked variation in the RMS amplitude levels and median frequency of EMG as the subject’s walking pace changed.