In lower-limb rehabilitation systems, exoskeleton robots are one of the most important components. These help patients to execute repetitive exercises under guidance physiotherapists. Recently, pneumatic artificial muscles (PAM), a kind actuator that acts similarly human muscles, have been chosen power robot for better human–machine interaction. order enhance performance PAM-based robot, this a...

We performed a whole-body mapping study of the effect of unilateral muscle vibration, eliciting spindle Ia firing, on the control of standing and walking in humans. During quiet stance, vibration applied to various muscles of the trunk-neck system and of the lower limb elicited a significant tilt in whole body postural orientation. The direction of vibration-induced postural tilt was consistent...

Although it is clear that walking over different irregular terrain is associated with altered biomechanics, there is little understanding of how we quickly adapt to unexpected variations in terrain. This study aims to investigate which adaptive strategies humans adopt when performing an unanticipated step on an irregular surface, specifically a small bump. Nine healthy male participants walked ...

[Purpose] Targeting university badminton players, this study investigated the relationship between agility, which is associated with performance in badminton, and lower limb muscle strength, and examined which muscles influence agility. [Subjects and Methods] A total of 23 male university badminton players were evaluated for side-shuffle test scores and lower limb strength. The relationships be...

Recovery of lower-limb function after spinal cord injury (SCI) likely depends on transmission in the corticospinal pathway. Here, we examined whether paired corticospinal-motoneuronal stimulation (PCMS) changes transmission at spinal synapses of lower-limb motoneurons in humans with chronic incomplete SCI and aged-matched controls. We used 200 pairs of stimuli where corticospinal volleys evoked...

Background & Aims: The purpose of this study was to determine the immediate effect of patella support brace on co-contraction and electromyographic activity of selected lower limb muscles in females with patellofemoral pain syndrome during stance phase of gait. Methods: EMG activity of vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, rectus femoris, gastrocnemius, biceps femoris, semitendinosus, gluteus medi...

STUDY DESIGN Experimental laboratory study. OBJECTIVES To quantify and compare electromyographic signal amplitude of the gluteus maximus and gluteus medius muscles during exercises of varying difficulty to determine which exercise most effectively recruits these muscles. BACKGROUND Gluteal muscle weakness has been proposed to be associated with lower extremity injury. Exercises to strengthe...

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to investigate the modular control of locomotor tasks and compared the modules before and after a running intervention. [Subjects and Methods] Electromyographic measurements were performed on eight young, healthy males engaged in a 60s run on a treadmill at 2.8 m/s before and immediately after the 600s of running intervention. Electromyographic data for 1...

Purpose. This study aimed at introducing a method towards determining the dynamical asymmetry of the upper extremities during swimming and to find its relationship with lower-limb movements in children when swimming the breaststroke. Methods. Twenty boys participated in the research, where seven boys were found to perform incorrect lower-limb movements when swimming. Therefore, the subjects wer...