Abstract
Previous studies have mostly relied on surface EMG signal amplitude to understand the correlation between muscle activity and metabolic rate during walking at various speeds. However, these studies have failed to establish a relationship between EMG signal frequency and gait efficiency (i.e., cost of transport (COT)). The frequency of the EMG signal is an important measure as it provides a better understanding of the motor unit recruitment range.
The goal of our project is to examine the correlation between human metabolic rate and muscle activity, with a particular focus on the frequency of the EMG signals during walking at different speeds. As a result, the findings of this study will be valuable in rehabilitating individuals who suffer from gait-related disorders.
We recruited ten participants for our study. Each participant’s preferred walking speed was identified using a 10 meters walk test, and seven speeds were determined from their average walking speed to test the effect of variable walking speed on muscle activations. We recorded EMG activity from gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior. We also recorded metabolic efficiency to estimate COT. To establish a relationship between EMG signal frequency and gait efficiency two forms of analysis were used in frequency domain, a pulse width analysis and area under curve analysis.
We found a U trend with the COT analysis which showed that the average walking speed of each participant was their most efficient walking speed, whereas faster and slower walking is metabolically inefficient. Additionally, in terms of the EMG frequency of the signal, we also found six out of eight participants has greater power spectral density (estimated from the area under the curve) for the tibialis anterior compared to gastrocnemius at slower walking speed, followed by a decrease at faster speeds. The gastrocnemius showed an increased the speeds of each participant increased.
Included in
Cost of Transport and Muscle Activity as a Function of Walking Efficiency at Variable Speed
Previous studies have mostly relied on surface EMG signal amplitude to understand the correlation between muscle activity and metabolic rate during walking at various speeds. However, these studies have failed to establish a relationship between EMG signal frequency and gait efficiency (i.e., cost of transport (COT)). The frequency of the EMG signal is an important measure as it provides a better understanding of the motor unit recruitment range.
The goal of our project is to examine the correlation between human metabolic rate and muscle activity, with a particular focus on the frequency of the EMG signals during walking at different speeds. As a result, the findings of this study will be valuable in rehabilitating individuals who suffer from gait-related disorders.
We recruited ten participants for our study. Each participant’s preferred walking speed was identified using a 10 meters walk test, and seven speeds were determined from their average walking speed to test the effect of variable walking speed on muscle activations. We recorded EMG activity from gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior. We also recorded metabolic efficiency to estimate COT. To establish a relationship between EMG signal frequency and gait efficiency two forms of analysis were used in frequency domain, a pulse width analysis and area under curve analysis.
We found a U trend with the COT analysis which showed that the average walking speed of each participant was their most efficient walking speed, whereas faster and slower walking is metabolically inefficient. Additionally, in terms of the EMG frequency of the signal, we also found six out of eight participants has greater power spectral density (estimated from the area under the curve) for the tibialis anterior compared to gastrocnemius at slower walking speed, followed by a decrease at faster speeds. The gastrocnemius showed an increased the speeds of each participant increased.