Alterations in neuromuscular activation patterns associated with walking in short-leg walking boots

Background: Short-leg walking boots are a common intervention for acute and chronic lower extremity injury. Few studies have examined the neuromuscular adaptations associated with short-leg walking boots and no previous study has investigated timing characteristics of muscle activation during gait. The purpose of the current study was to examine the timing and amplitudes of muscle activation of the extrinsic ankle musculature during walking in two types of short-leg walking boots. Methods: Eleven healthy young adults performed five level walking trials at a self-selected pace in each of three conditions: normal walking, Gait Walker and Equalizer short-leg walking boots. Ground reaction forces were collected from a force platform while surface electromyography (EMG) was collected from the tibialis anterior, peroneus longus and medial gastrocnemius. EMG signals were rectified and smoothed using the root mean squared with a 20-ms smoothing window and were normalized to the largest mean of the normal walking trials. A repeated measures analysis of variance was used to assess the effect of short-leg walking boots on the onset, duration and amplitude of muscle activation. Results: Short-leg walking boots were generally associated with earlier onsets of muscle activation and longer durations of muscle activation. However, there was no reduction in EMG amplitude. Conclusion: The findings of this study show that the induced alterations in muscle activation patterns may limit the short-leg walking boots. Copyright (C) 2012, Shanghai University of Sport. Production and hosting by Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.