Maurice Mohr

Task-Dependent Intermuscular Motor Unit Synchronization between Medial and Lateral Vastii Muscles during Dynamic and Isometric Squats.

Purpose Motor unit activity is coordinated between many synergistic muscle pairs but the functional role of this coordination for the motor output is unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the short-term modality of coordinated motor unit activity–the synchronized discharge of individual motor units across muscles within time intervals of 5ms–for the Vastus Medialis (VM) and Lateralis (VL). Furthermore, we studied the task-dependency of intermuscular motor unit synchronization between VM and VL during static and dynamic squatting tasks to provide insight into its functional role. Methods Sixteen healthy male and female participants completed four tasks: Bipedal squats, single-leg squats, an isometric squat, and single-leg balance. Monopolar surface electromyography (EMG) was used to record motor unit activity of VM and VL. For each task, intermuscular motor unit synchronization was determined using a coherence analysis between the raw EMG signals of VM and VL and compared to a reference coherence calculated from two desynchronized EMG signals. The time shift between VM and VL EMG signals was estimated according to the slope of the coherence phase angle spectrum. Results For all tasks, except for singe-leg balance, coherence between 15–80Hz significantly exceeded the reference. The corresponding time shift between VM and VL was estimated as 4ms. Coherence between 30–60Hz was highest for the bipedal squat, followed by the single-leg squat and the isometric squat. Conclusion There is substantial short-term motor unit synchronization between VM and VL. Intermuscular motor unit synchronization is enhanced for contractions during dynamic activities, possibly to facilitate a more accurate control of the joint torque, and reduced during single-leg tasks that require balance control and thus, a more independent muscle function. It is proposed that the central nervous system scales the degree of intermuscular motor unit synchronization according to the requirements of the movement task at hand.

A wavelet based time frequency analysis of electromyograms to group steps of runners into clusters that contain similar muscle activation patterns

Purpose To wavelet transform the electromyograms of the vastii muscles and generate wavelet intensity patterns (WIP) of runners. Test the hypotheses: 1) The WIP of the vastus medialis (VM) and vastus lateralis (VL) of one step are more similar than the WIPs of these two muscles, offset by one step. 2) The WIPs within one muscle differ by having maximal intensities in specific frequency bands and these intensities are not always occurring at the same time after heel strike. 3) The WIPs that were recorded form one muscle for all steps while running can be grouped into clusters with similar WIPs. It is expected that clusters might have distinctly different, cluster specific mean WIPs. Methods The EMG of the vastii muscles from at least 1000 steps from twelve runners were recorded using a bipolar current amplifier and yielded WIPs. Based on the weights obtained after a principal component analysis the dissimilarities (1-correlation) between the WIPs were computed. The dissimilarities were submitted to a hierarchical cluster analysis to search for groups of steps with similar WIPs. The clusters formed by random surrogate WIPs were used to determine whether the groups were likely to be created in a non-random manner. Results The steps were grouped in clusters showing similar WIPs. The grouping was based on the frequency bands and their timing showing that they represented defining parts of the WIPs. The correlations between the WIPs of the vastii muscles that were recorded during the same step were higher than the correlations of WPIs that were recorded during consecutive steps, indicating the non-randomness of the WIPs. Conclusions The spectral power of EMGs while running varies during the stance phase in time and frequency, therefore a time averaged power spectrum cannot reflect the timing of events that occur while running. It seems likely that there might be a set of predefined patterns that are used upon demand to stabilize the movement.

The Preferred Movement Path Paradigm: Influence of Running Shoes on Joint Movement

Purpose (A) To quantify differences in lower extremity joint kinematics for groups of runners subjected to different running footwear conditions, and (B) to quantify differences in lower extremity joint kinematics on an individual basis for runners subjected to different running footwear conditions. Methods Three-dimensional ankle and knee joint kinematics were collected for 35 heel–toe runners when wearing three different running shoes and when running barefoot. Absolute mean differences in ankle and knee joint kinematics were computed between running shoe conditions. The percentage of individual runners who displayed differences below a 2°, 3°, and 5° threshold were also calculated. Results The results indicate that the mean kinematics of the ankle and knee joints were similar between running shoe conditions. Aside from ankle dorsiflexion and knee flexion, the percentage of runners maintaining their movement path between running shoes (i.e., less than 3°) was in the order of magnitude of about 80% to 100%. Many runners showed ankle and knee joint kinematics that differed between a conventional running shoe and barefoot by more than 3°, especially for ankle dorsiflexion and knee flexion. Conclusions Many runners stay in the same movement path (the preferred movement path) when running in various different footwear conditions. The percentage of runners maintaining their preferred movement path depends on the magnitude of the change introduced by the footwear condition.

Reliability of the knee muscle co-contraction index during gait in young adults with and without knee injury history

Despite the frequent use of the electromyography-based muscle co-contraction index (CCI) to examine muscular control of the knee joint in young adults with and without knee injury history, the reliability of the CCI in this population is unknown. The purpose of this study was to quantify within-day and between-day reliability of the knee muscle CCI during gait in young adults with and without knee injury history. Twenty young adults (10 males, 10 females) with and without history of intra-articular knee injury performed repeated gait analyses on two different days. Surface electromyography of periarticular knee muscles was performed to determine CCIs for medial and lateral knee extensor - flexor pairs. Absolute (Bland-Altman ratio limits of agreement) and relative (ICCs) reliability were determined between two sessions on the same day as well as on different days. Within-day reliability was good to excellent for most analyzed co-contraction outcomes (ICCs > 0.9) and was deemed acceptable in the context of clinically relevant changes in co-contraction in response to interventions. Between two separate days, the CCI showed poor reliability with measurement errors of up to 300% and was consequently not recommended as a tool to monitor long-term changes or group differences in knee muscular control.

Intermuscular Coherence Between Surface EMG Signals Is Higher for Monopolar Compared to Bipolar Electrode Configurations

Introduction: The vasti muscles have to work in concert to control knee joint motion during movements like walking, running, or squatting. Coherence analysis between surface electromyography (EMG) signals is a common technique to study muscle synchronization during such movements and gain insight into strategies of the central nervous system to optimize neuromuscular performance. However, different assessment methods related to EMG data acquisition, e.g., different electrode configurations or amplifier technologies, have produced inconsistent observations. Therefore, the aim of this study was to elucidate the effect of different EMG acquisition techniques (monopolar vs. bipolar electrode configuration, potential vs. current amplifier) on the magnitude, reliability, and sensitivity of intermuscular coherence between two vasti muscles during stable and unstable squatting exercises. Methods: Surface EMG signals from vastus lateralis (VL) and medialis (VM) were obtained from eighteen adults while performing series of stable und unstable bipedal squats. The EMG signals were acquired using three different recording techniques: (1) Bipolar with a potential amplifier, (2) monopolar with a potential amplifier, and (3) monopolar electrodes with a current amplifier. VL-VM coherence between the respective raw EMG signals was determined during two trials of stable squatting and one trial of unstable squatting to compare the coherence magnitude, reliability, and sensitivity between EMG recording techniques. Results: VL-VM coherence was about twice as high for monopolar recordings compared to bipolar recordings for all squatting exercises while coherence was similar between monopolar potential and current recordings. Reliability measures were comparable between recording systems while the sensitivity to an increase in intermuscular coherence during unstable vs. stable squatting was lowest for the monopolar potential system. Discussion and Conclusion: The choice of electrode configuration can have a significant effect on the magnitude of EMG-EMG coherence, which may explain previous inconsistencies in the literature. A simple simulation of cross-talk could not explain the large differences in intermuscular coherence. It is speculated that inevitable errors in the alignment of the bipolar electrodes with the muscle fiber direction leads to a reduction of information content in the differential EMG signals and subsequently to a lower resolution for the detection of intermuscular coherence.

Muscle tuning and preferred movement path - a paradigm shift

In the last 40 years, the scientific debate around running injuries and running shoes has been dominated by two paradigms, the ‘impact’ and the ‘pronation’ paradigms. However, the development of running shoe technologies aimed at reducing impact forces and pronation has not led to a decline of running-related injuries. This article recommends to abandon the ‘impact’ and ‘pronation’ paradigms due to a lack of biomechanical and epidemiological evidence and instead suggests a shift to new paradigms: ‘Muscle tuning’ and the ‘preferred movement path’. These paradigms represent new approaches to understanding the biomechanical patterns of each individual runner and how they are controlled by the neuromuscular system. Experimental evidence in support of the ‘muscle tuning’ and ‘preferred movement path’ paradigms are presented and discussed regarding their relevance for running performance, injuries, and footwear. Finally, this paper proposes that the concept of ‘functional groups’ should be used and further developed to overcome the challenge that groups of individuals respond differently to footwear interventions. First, groups of individuals who behave similarly (functional groups) should be identified. Second, running shoes should be selected to match the characteristics of the identified functional groups in order to optimize the beneficial effects of running shoes for improving running performance and reducing the risk of running injuries.

Influence of footwear comfort on the variability of running kinematics

Footwear comfort is an important factor in design, purchase and use of running shoes but current measures require multiple subjective assessments. Therefore, an objective and more reliable surrogate measure of footwear comfort would be of high relevance. In other research fields, perceived comfort was found to influence the variability of movement execution. Consequently, the purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of perceived footwear comfort on the variability of running kinematics as a potential surrogate measure of comfort. Thirty-six recreational athletes ran in five different running shoes on an indoor track while their running kinematics were recorded using a foot-mounted tri-axial inertial measurement unit (IMU). Footwear comfort was measured through multiple subjective assessments. The relative variability of IMU data was determined across the swing phase of 45 gait cycles and compared between the most and least comfortable shoes. Lower footwear comfort was associated with lower kinematic variability especially in the second half of the swing phase but only for variables that are not directly linked to the forward propulsion during running and mainly describe frontal and transverse joint rotations. The constraints of an uncomfortable shoe may lead to the adaptation of a more monotonous running style with the goal to stay in the least uncomfortable movement path. This finding may partially explain a previously described higher injury risk when exercising in footwear of lower comfort, as more repetitive forces could increase the risk of overuse injury. The results of this study implicate the possible use of IMU-based kinematic variability as a surrogate measure of footwear comfort, which could complement subjective measures.

Definition and quantification of ‘ride’ during running

Abstract ‘Ride’ is a term that has been used occasionally to describe the feel of a shoe while running, yet it has never formally been defined nor have there been any suggestions of how to objectively measure ‘ride’. In this study, we proposed a definition for ‘ride’, relating to the smoothness of the transition of the foot through the stance phase of gait, and suggested that the peak velocity in the anterior–posterior direction derived from the centre of pressure would be an appropriate measure to quantify ‘ride’. Then, we used experimental evidence to advocate the appropriateness of this assessment. Thirteen participants ran over 160 metres in two pairs of shoes with different midsole compliance, and subjectively evaluated the ‘ride’ and comfort of each shoe. Centre of pressure was measured from pressure-sensing insoles and the peak velocity in the anterior–posterior direction was taken from the transition from heel to forefoot. It was found that individuals were able to perceive the ‘ride’ of a shoe and the shoe with the lower peak velocity coincided with a significantly higher rating of ‘ride’ and comfort (p < 0.001). However, it was not always the shoe with the softer midsole that had a smoother ‘ride’, as 5 out of 13 participants had a smoother ‘ride’ in the stiff midsole. Further research is required to understand why certain individuals have a smoother ‘ride’ in a compliant versus a stiff midsole. This concept could prove useful in the real world and could possibly be implemented within a shoe store to help guide the selection of a shoe.

Subjective and biomechanical assessment of ‘ride’ during running

The results of this study indicate that systematic alterations in artificial turf components can alter rotational traction and these changes in rotational traction are substantial enough to result in alterations in the joint loading of the ankle and knee. Using this data, artificial turf companies can alter the composition of sport surfaces to reduce the joint loading of athletes performing on these surfaces. Reduction of the joint loads should result in a reduction in knee and ankle injuries providing a distinct advantage for artificial turf when compared to natural grass. Disclosure statement

The relationship between footwear comfort and variability of running kinematics

Footwear comfort plays an important role in enhancing running performance and in reducing movement-related injuries (Nigg, Baltich, Hoerzer, & Enders, 2015). However, the influence of footwear comf...