Shared and task-specific muscle synergies of Nordic walking and conventional walking

Concerto of movement: how expertise shapes the synergistic control of upper limb muscles in complex motor tasks with varying tempo and dynamics

Objective. This research aims to reveal how the synergistic control of upper limb muscles adapts to varying requirements in complex motor tasks and how expertise shapes the motor modules.Approach. We study the muscle synergies of a complex, highly skilled and flexible task-piano playing-and characterize expertise-related muscle-synergy control that permits the experts to effortlessly execute the same task at different tempo and force levels. Surface EMGs (28 muscles) were recorded from adult novice (N= 10) and expert (N= 10) pianists as they played scales and arpeggios at different tempo-force combinations. Muscle synergies were factorized from EMGs.Main results. We found that experts were able to cover both tempo and dynamic ranges using similar synergy selections and achieved better performance, while novices altered synergy selections more to adapt to the changing tempi and keystroke intensities compared with experts. Both groups relied on fine-tuning the muscle weights within specific synergies to accomplish the different task styles, while the experts could tune the muscles in a greater number of synergies, especially when changing the tempo, and switch tempo over a wider range.Significance. Our study sheds light on the control mechanism underpinning expertise-related motor flexibility in highly skilled motor tasks that require decade-long training. Our results have implications on musical and sports training, as well as motor prosthetic design.

Investigating the impact of external load on muscle synergies during bipedal squats

PURPOSE

A broad functional movement repertoire is crucial for engaging in physical activity and reducing the risk of injury, both of which are central aspects of lifelong health. As a fundamental exercise in both recreational and rehabilitative training regimes, the bipedal squat (SQBp) incorporates many everyday movement patterns. Crucially, SQBp can only be considered functional if the practitioner can meet the coordinative demands. Many factors affect coordinative aspects of an exercise, most notably external load. Since compound movements are assumed to be organized in a synergistic manner, we employed muscle synergy analysis to examine differences in muscle synergy properties between various external load levels during SQBp.

METHODS

Ten healthy male recreational athletes were enrolled in the present study. Each participant performed three sets of ten SQBp on a smith machine at three submaximal load levels (50%, 62.5%, and 75% of 3 repetition maximum) across three non-consecutive days. Muscle activity was recorded from 12 prime movers of SQBp by way of electromyography (EMG). Muscle synergies were analyzed in terms of temporal activation patterns, i.e., waveform, as well as the relative input of each muscle into individual synergies, i.e., weight contribution.

RESULTS

Waveforms of muscle synergies did not differ between loads. Weight contributions showed significant differences between load levels, albeit only for the gastrocnemius muscle in a single synergy.

CONCLUSION

Taken together, our results imply mostly stable spatiotemporal composition of muscle activity during SQBp, underlining the importance of technical competence during compound movement performance in athletic and rehabilitative settings.

Muscle synergies are shared across fundamental subtasks in complex movements of skateboarding

A common theory of motor control posits that movement is controlled by muscle synergies. However, the behavior of these synergies during highly complex movements remains largely unexplored. Skateboarding is a hardly researched sport that requires rapid motor control to perform tricks. The objectives of this study were to investigate three key areas: (i) whether motor complexity differs between skateboard tricks, (ii) the inter-participant variability in synergies, and (iii) whether synergies are shared between different tricks. Electromyography data from eight muscles per leg were collected from seven experienced skateboarders performing three different tricks (Ollie, Kickflip, 360°-flip). Synergies were extracted using non-negative matrix factorization. The number of synergies (NoS) was determined using two criteria based on the total variance accounted for (tVAF > 90% and adding an additional synergy does not increase tVAF > 1%). In summary: (i) NoS and tVAF did not significantly differ between tricks, indicating similar motor complexity. (ii) High inter-participant variability exists across participants, potentially caused by the low number of constraints given to perform the tricks. (iii) Shared synergies were observed in every comparison of two tricks. Furthermore, each participant exhibited at least one synergy vector, which corresponds to the fundamental 'jumping' task, that was shared through all three tricks.

Flexibility and Strength Effects of Adapted Nordic Walking and Myofascial Exercises Practice in Breast Cancer Survivors and Analysis of Differences

Breast cancer treatments can elicit negative kinesiological side effects concerning both the posture and functional status of breast cancer survivors. As our body is functionally organized in myofascial meridians, physical exercise practice should favor a whole-body approach rather than a local one. The aim of the study was to investigate and compare the effects of two whole-body disciplines, i.e., adapted Nordic Walking and myofascial exercise, on the flexibility and strength performances in BCS. One hundred and sixty breast cancer survivors were trained three times per week for 12 weeks through adapted Nordic Walking or myofascial exercise. Handgrip, sit and reach, back scratch, and single leg back bridge tests and body composition were assessed at the beginning and completion of the training period. Linear mixed models showed no significant changes in body composition, whereas flexibility (p < 0.001), strength (p < 0.001), and muscle quality index (p = 0.003) changed independently from the treatment. When data modification has been analyzed according to sub-sample membership, no significant differences have been observed. Age, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy seem to have independent effects on several investigated variables. Twelve weeks of adapted myofascial exercise and Nordic Walking led to significant changes in flexibility, strength, and muscle quality in breast cancer survivors, with no apparent superiority of one approach over the other.

Biomechanical comparison of walking with a new, wearable rehabilitation training device to Nordic walking and regular walking in people with chronic low back pain

Physical activity, particularly walking, is commonly used for the treatment of diseases such as low back pain. In this study, the effects of walking wearing the new ToneFit Reha training belt (TFR) were compared to both Nordic walking and regular walking. The TFR is intended to intensify the effects of walking through the integration of two adjustable resistance handles. Ten patients with low back pain performed regular walking, Nordic walking, and walking with the TFR in a movement laboratory. The kinematics of the trunk, upper extremities, and lower extremities were measured, and the activity of the trunk and upper extremity muscles recorded. Data were analyzed by repeated-measures ANOVA and paired t-test. Kinematics indicated that walking with the TFR introduces instability that was mitigated by a delayed peak trunk rotation (peak at 63.3% gait cycle, vs. 52.8% in walking (p = .001) and 51.0% in NW (p = .007)). Upper extremity kinematics (constrained elbow flexion, high peak shoulder abduction) showed movement patterns that need to be considered when training over a longer period. Increased muscle activity was observed especially for upper extremity muscles, when training with TFR. Overall, walking with the TFR was found to be a suitable therapy for use in a rehabilitation setting.

Muscle synergy patterns as altered coordination strategies in individuals with chronic low back pain: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a highly prevalent disease with poorly understood underlying mechanisms. In particular, altered trunk muscle coordination in response to specific trunk tasks remains largely unknown.

METHODS

We investigated the muscle synergies during 11 trunk movement and stability tasks in 15 healthy individuals (8 females and 7 males, aged 21. 3 (20.1-22.8) ± 0.6 years) and in 15 CLBP participants (8 females and 7 males, aged 20. 9 (20.2-22.6) ± 0.7 years) by recording the surface electromyographic activities of 12 back and abdominal muscles (six muscles unilaterally). Non-negative matrix factorization was performed to extract the muscle synergies.

RESULTS

We found six trunk muscle synergies and temporal patterns in both groups. The high similarity of the trunk synergies and temporal patterns in the groups suggests that both groups share the common feature of the trunk coordination strategy. We also found that trunk synergies related to the lumbar erector spinae showed lower variability in the CLBP group. This may reflect the impaired back muscles that reshape the trunk synergies in the fixed structure of CLBP. Furthermore, the higher variability of trunk synergies in the other muscle regions such as in the latissimus dorsi and oblique externus, which were activated in trunk stability tasks in the CLBP group, represented more individual motor strategies when the trunk tasks were highly demanding.

CONCLUSION

Our work provides the first demonstration that individual modular organization is fine-tuned while preserving the overall structures of trunk synergies and temporal patterns in the presence of persistent CLBP.

The Impact of Nordic Walking Pole Length on Gait Kinematic Parameters

Nordic walking (NW) is a popular physical activity used to manage chronic diseases and maintain overall health and fitness status. This study aimed to compare NW to ordinary walking (W) with regard to pole length and to identify kinematic differences associated with different poles' length (55%, 65% and 75% of the subject's height, respectively). Twelve male volunteers (21.1 ± 0.7 years; 1.74 ± 0.05 m; 68.9 ± 6.1 kg) were tested in four conditions (W, NW55, NW65 and NW75) at three different speeds (4-5-6 km∗h^-1). Each subject performed a total of twelve tests in a random order. Three-dimensional kinematics of upper and lower body were measured for both W and NW, while oxygen consumption levels (VO₂) and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were measured only for NW trials with different poles' length. NW showed a higher step length, lower elbow motion and higher trunk motion (p < 0.05) compared to W. Additionally, NW65 did not show any kinematic or RPE differences compared to NW55 and NW75. Only NW75 showed a higher elbow joint (p < 0.05) and lower pole (p < 0.05) range of motion compared to NW55 and a higher VO₂ (p < 0.05) compared to NW55 and NW65 at 6 km∗h^-1. In conclusion, the use of the poles affects the motion of the upper and lower body during gait. Poles with shorter or longer length do not produce particular changes in NW kinematics. However, increasing the length of the pole can be a smart variation in NW to increase exercise metabolic demand without significantly affecting the kinematics and the RPE.

A Review of Biomechanical and Physiological Effects of Using Poles in Sports

The use of poles in sports, to support propulsion, is an integral and inherent component of some sports disciplines such as skiing (cross-country and roller), Nordic walking, and trail running. The aim of this review is to summarize the current state-of-the-art of literature on multiple influencing factors of poles in terms of biomechanical and physiological effects. We evaluated publications in the subfields of biomechanics, physiology, coordination, and pole properties. Plantar pressure and ground reaction forces decreased with the use of poles in all included studies. The upper body and trunk muscles were more active. The lower body muscles were either less active or no different from walking without poles. The use of poles led to a higher oxygen consumption (VO2) without increasing the level of perceived exertion (RPE). Furthermore, the heart rate (HR) tended to be higher. Longer poles reduced the VO2 and provided a longer thrust phase and greater propulsive impulse. The mass of the poles showed no major influence on VO2, RPE, or HR. Solely the activity of the biceps brachii increased with the pole mass.

Muscle Synergies in People With Chronic Ankle Instability During Anticipated and Unanticipated Landing-Cutting Tasks

CONTEXT

Although neuromuscular deficits in people with chronic ankle instability (CAI) have been identified, previous researchers have mostly investigated the activation of multiple muscles in isolation. Investigating muscle synergies in people with CAI would provide information about the coordination and control of neuromuscular activation strategies and could supply important information for understanding and rehabilitating neuromuscular deficits in this population.

OBJECTIVE

To assess and compare muscle synergies using nonnegative matrix factorization in people with CAI and healthy control individuals as they performed different landing-cutting tasks.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

SETTING

Laboratory.

PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS

A total of 11 people with CAI (5 men, 6 women; age = 22 ± 3 years, height = 1.68 ± 0.11 m, mass = 69.0 ± 19.1 kg) and 11 people without CAI serving as a healthy control group (5 men, 6 women; age = 23 ± 4 years, height = 1.74 ± 0.11 m, mass = 66.8 ± 15.5 kg) participated.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S)

Muscle synergies were extracted from electromyography of the lateral gastrocnemius, medial gastrocnemius, fibularis longus, soleus, and tibialis anterior (TA) muscles during anticipated and unanticipated landing-cutting tasks. The number of synergies, activation coefficients, and muscle-specific weighting coefficients were compared between groups and across tasks.

RESULTS

The number of muscle synergies was the same for each group and task. The CAI group exhibited greater TA weighting coefficients in synergy 1 than the control group (P = .02). In addition, both groups demonstrated greater fibularis longus (P = .03) weighting coefficients in synergy 2 during the unanticipated landing-cutting task than the anticipated landing-cutting task.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that, although both groups used neuromuscular control strategies of similar complexity or dimensionality to perform the landing-cutting tasks, the CAI group displayed different muscle-specific weightings characterized by greater emphasis on TA function in synergy 1, which may reflect an effort to increase joint stability to compensate for ankle instability.

Variability of trunk muscle synergies underlying the multidirectional movements and stability trunk motor tasks in healthy individuals

Muscle synergy analysis is useful for investigating trunk coordination patterns based on the assumption that the central nervous system reduces the dimensionality of muscle activation to simplify movement. This study aimed to quantify the variability in trunk muscle synergy during various trunk motor tasks in healthy participants to provide reference data for evaluating trunk control strategies in patients and athletes. Sixteen healthy individuals performed 11 trunk movement and stability tasks with electromyography (EMG) recording of their spinal and abdominal muscles (6 bilaterally). Non-negative matrix factorization applied to the concatenated EMG of all tasks identified the five trunk muscle synergies (W) with their corresponding temporal patterns (C). The medians of within-cluster similarity defined by scalar products in W and rmax coefficient using the cross-correlation function in C were 0.73-0.86 and 0.64-0.75, respectively, while the inter-session similarities were 0.81-0.96 and 0.74-0.84, respectively. However, the lowest and highest values of both similarity indices were broad, reflecting the musculoskeletal system's redundancy within and between participants. Furthermore, the significant differences in the degree of variability between the trunk synergies may represent the different neural features of synergy organization and strategies to overcome the various mechanical demands of a motor task.

Muscle activation patterns and muscle synergies reflect different modes of coordination during upper extremity movement

A core issue in motor control is how the central nervous system generates and selects the muscle activation patterns necessary to achieve a variety of behaviors and movements. Extensive studies have verified that it is the foundation to induce a complex movement by the modular combinations of several muscles with a synergetic relationship. However, a few studies focus on the synergetic similarity and dissimilarity among different types of movements, especially for the upper extremity movements. In this study, we introduced the non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) method to explore the muscle activation patterns and synergy structure under 6 types of movements, involving the hand open (HO), hand close (HC), wrist flexion (WF), wrist extension (WE), supination (SU), and pronation (PR). For this, we enrolled 10 healthy subjects to record the electromyography signal for NMF calculation. The results showed a highly modular similarity of the muscle synergy among subjects under the same movement. Furthermore, Spearman's correlation analysis indicated significant similarities among HO-WE, HO-SU, and WE-SU (p < 0.001). Additionally, we also found shared synergy and special synergy in activation patterns among different movements. This study confirmed the theory of modular structure in the central nervous system, which yields a stable synergetic pattern under the same movement. Our findings on muscle synergy will be of great significance to motor control and even to clinical assessment techniques.

The Number and Structure of Muscle Synergies Depend on the Number of Recorded Muscles: A Pilot Simulation Study with OpenSim

The muscle synergy approach is used to evaluate motor control and to quantitatively determine the number and structure of the modules underlying movement. In experimental studies regarding the upper limb, typically 8 to 16 EMG probes are used depending on the application, although the number of muscles involved in motor generation is higher. Therefore, the number of motor modules may be underestimated and the structure altered with the standard spatial synergy model based on the non-negative matrix factorization (NMF). In this study, we compared the number and structure of muscle synergies when considering 12 muscles (an "average" condition that represents previous studies) and 32 muscles of the upper limb, also including multiple muscle heads and deep muscles. First, we estimated the muscle activations with an upper-limb model in OpenSim using data from multi-directional reaching movements acquired in experimental sessions; then, spatial synergies were extracted from EMG activations from 12 muscles and from 32 muscles and their structures were compared. Finally, we compared muscle synergies obtained from OpenSim and from real experimental EMG signals to assess the reliability of the results. Interestingly, we found that on average, an additional synergy is needed to reconstruct the same R² level with 32 muscles with respect to 12 muscles; synergies have a very similar structure, although muscles with comparable physiological functions were added to the synergies extracted with 12 muscles. The additional synergies, instead, captured patterns that could not be identified with only 12 muscles. We concluded that current studies may slightly underestimate the number of controlled synergies, even though the main structure of synergies is not modified when adding more muscles. We also show that EMG activations estimated with OpenSim are in partial (but not complete) agreement with experimental recordings. These findings may have significative implications for motor control and clinical studies.

External walking environment differentially affects muscle synergies in children with cerebral palsy and typical development

Despite external environmental changes in walking, such as manipulating gait speed, previous studies have shown that the underlying muscle synergy structures (synergy weights or vectors) rarely vary. The purpose of this study is to examine if external environmental changes to the walking task influence muscle synergies in children with cerebral palsy (CP) and/or typical development (TD). To identify muscle synergies, we extracted muscle synergies from eight children with CP and eight age-matched TD in three treadmill walking conditions, e.g., baseline (adjusted to individual comfortable walking speed), variable speed (VS), or restricted foot width (RW). Then, we grouped similar muscle synergies using k-mean clustering and discriminant analyses from all datasets of individual synergy structures. Proportion tests exhibited six clusters of muscle synergies predominantly arising from children with CP and four clusters from children with TD. Also, the proportion of muscle synergies was significantly different in four of the CP-preferred clusters across conditions. Specifically, the proportion of the baseline condition was significantly different from VS and RW conditions in one and two clusters, respectively. The proportion was significantly different between VS and RW conditions in four clusters. Cadence and step lengths differed across conditions but not groups which makes the group differences in proportion even more notable. In contrast, step width, while significantly lower in CP, did not differ across conditions. Our findings demonstrate that muscle synergies in children with CP are more sensitive to changes in the external walking environment than in typically developing children.

Modulation of Muscle Synergies in Lower-Limb Muscles Associated With Split-Belt Locomotor Adaptation

Humans have great locomotor adaptability to environmental demands, which has been investigated using a split-belt treadmill with belts on both the left and right sides. Thus far, neuromuscular control in split-belt locomotor adaptation has been evaluated by analyzing muscle activities at the individual muscle level. Meanwhile, in the motor control field, the muscle synergy concept has been proposed. Muscle synergies are considered the fundamental building blocks of movement and are groups of coactive muscles and time-varying activation patterns, thereby, reflecting the neurophysiological characteristics of movement. To date, it remains unclear how such muscle synergies change during the adaptation and de-adaptation processes on the split-belt treadmill. Hence, we chronologically extracted muscle synergies while walking on the split-belt treadmill and examined changes in the number, muscle weightings, and temporal activation patterns of muscle synergies. Twelve healthy young males participated, and surface electromyography (EMG) signals were recorded bilaterally from 13 lower-limb muscles. Muscle synergies were extracted by applying non-negative matrix factorization to the EMG data of each leg. We found that during split-belt walking, the number of synergies in the slow leg increased while an extra synergy appeared and disappeared in the fast leg. Additionally, the areas under the temporal activation patterns in several synergies in both legs decreased. When both belts returned to the same speed, a decrease in the number of synergies and an increase in the areas under the temporal activation patterns of several synergies were temporally shown in each leg. Subsequently, the number of synergies and the areas under the temporal activation patterns returned to those of normal walking before split-belt walking. Thus, changes in the number, muscle weightings, and temporal activation patterns of synergies were noted in the split-belt locomotor adaptation, suggesting that the adaptation and de-adaptation occurred at the muscle synergy level.

An Intervention of 12 Weeks of Nordic Walking and Recreational Walking to Improve Cardiorespiratory Capacity and Fitness in Older Adult Women

(1) Background: The main aim of this study was to examine the effect of an intervention of 12 weeks in three groups on anthropometric measurement and heart rate (HR) variables, fitness index, and maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) in older women. (2) Methods: In total, 166 Serbian adult women, aged 50 to 69 years old, participated in this study, comprising a control group (60 participants, μage = 57.8 + 6.6), Nordic-walking (NW) group (53 participants, μage = 57.5 + 6.8), and recreational-walking (RW) group (53 participants, μage = 57.8 + 6.6) in a physical fitness programme for 12 weeks. (3) Results: Anthropometric measurement variables were measured using a stadiometer and an electronic scale. The data showed differences in walking heart rate (bt/min) (p < 0.001; η2 = 0.088) between control, NW, and RW groups in the pretest analysis. Moreover, there were significant differences in walking heart rate (bt/min) (η2 = 0.155), heart rate at the end of the test (bt/min) (η2 = 0.093), total time of fitness index test (min) (η2 = 0.097), fitness index (η2 = 0.130), and VO2max (η2 = 0.111) (all, p < 0.001) between control, NW, and RW groups in the posttest analysis. (4) Conclusions: NW group training resulted in slightly greater benefits than RW group training. The present study demonstrated that both groups could act as modalities to improve the functionality and quality of life of people during the ageing process, reflected mainly in HR variables; UKK test measurements, and VO2max. It also contributes to the extant research on older women during exercise and opens interesting avenues for future research.

Basic locomotor muscle synergies used in land walking are finely tuned during underwater walking

Underwater walking is one of the most common hydrotherapeutic exercises. Therefore, understanding muscular control during underwater walking is important for optimizing training regimens. The effects of the water environment on walking are mainly related to the hydrostatic and hydrodynamic theories of buoyancy and drag force. To date, muscular control during underwater walking has been investigated at the individual muscle level. However, it is recognized that the human nervous system modularly controls multiple muscles through muscle synergies, which are sets of muscles that work together. We found that the same set of muscle synergies was shared between the two walking tasks. However, some task-dependent modulation was found in the activation combination across muscles and temporal activation patterns of the muscle synergies. The results suggest that the human nervous system modulates activation of lower-limb muscles during water walking by finely tuning basic locomotor muscle synergies that are used during land walking to meet the biomechanical requirements for walking in the water environment.

Effects of body weight support and guidance force settings on muscle synergy during Lokomat walking

BACKGROUND

The Lokomat is a robotic device that has been suggested to make gait therapy easier, more comfortable, and more efficient. In this study, we asked whether the Lokomat promotes physiological muscle activation patterns, a fundamental question when considering motor learning and adaptation.

METHODS

We investigated lower limb muscles coordination in terms of muscle activity level, muscle activity pattern similarity, and muscle synergy in 15 healthy participants walking at 3 km/h on either a treadmill or in a Lokomat at various guidance forces (GF: 30, 50 or 70%) and body weight supports (BWS: 30, 50 or 70% of participant's body weight).

RESULTS

Walking in the Lokomat was associated with a greater activation level of the rectus femoris and vastus medialis (×2-3) compared to treadmill walking. The level of activity tended to be diminished in gastrocnemius and semi-tendinosus, which particularly affected the similarity with treadmill walking (normalized scalar product NSP = 0.7-0.8). GF and BWS independently altered the muscle activation pattern in terms of amplitude and shape. Increasing BWS decreased the level of activity in all but one muscle (the soleus). Increasing GF slightly improved the similarity with treadmill walking for the tibialis anterior and vastus medialis muscles. The muscle synergies (N = 4) were similar (NSP = 0.93-0.97), but a cross-validation procedure revealed an alteration by the Lokomat. The activation of these synergies differed (NSP = 0.74-0.82).

CONCLUSION

The effects of GF and BWS are modest compared to the effect of the Lokomat itself, suggesting that Lokomat design should be improved to promote more typical muscle activity patterns.

The Influence of Nordic Walking on Isokinetic Trunk Muscle Endurance and Sagittal Spinal Curvatures in Women after Breast Cancer Treatment: Age-Specific Indicators

Nordic walking (NW) is a popular form of rehabilitation. NW improves psychophysical condition in breast cancer (BC) survivors. This study aimed to analyze the effects of NW on functional and postural changes of the trunk in women of different ages after BC. We hypothesized that an age relationship would be found. BC survivors (n = 39) were stratified by age as “middle- aged” (45–59 years) or “older” (60–75 years), then randomly allocated to the training intervention. A study group (SG, n = 19) participated in NW and a control group (CG, n = 20) performed general gymnastics. The sagittal spinal curvatures and isokinetic trunk muscle endurance were recorded at two time points, pre- and post-training intervention. Significant within NW group changes (p < 0.05) were found for the total work (TW) and average power (AP) of trunk flexors and extensors and the upper thoracic angle in middle-aged women. In older Nordic walkers, significant increases in TW and AP of the trunk flexor muscles were observed, with a negative increase in the trunk inclination angle. In CG, no significant functional or postural changes were observed in response to general gymnastics. NW improved both functional and postural changes in middle-aged women. This study identified the limitations of NW training in older women.

Schuch F, T. Franzoni L, R. Carvalho A, A. Gomeñuka N, Becker M, Rieder CRM, Andrade A, G. Martinez F, S. Pagnussat A, A. Peyré-Tartaruga L. Nordic Walking and Free Walking Improve the Quality of Life, Cognitive Function, and Depressive Symptoms in Individuals with Parkinson's Disease: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Nordic walking's (NW) degree of effectiveness regarding health-related parameters in people with Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a subject of debate. While NW seems to improve functionality, a clear non-motor benefit has not been demonstrated. The aim of this randomized controlled trial was to compare the effects of 9-week NW and free walking (FW) training programs on quality of life, cognitive function, and depressive symptoms in individuals with PD. Thirty-three people with PD, (Hoehn and Yahr 1-4) were randomized into two groups: NW (n = 16) and FW (n = 17). We analyzed quality of life, cognitive function, depressive symptoms, and motor symptoms. Significant improvements were found in the overall, physical, psychological, social participation, and intimacy domains of quality of life, as well as in cognitive function and depressive symptoms for both groups. Only the NW group showed improvement in the autonomy domain. Individuals with PD had a similar enhancement of non-motor symptoms after walking training, with or without poles. However, the NW group showed a more significant improvement in the autonomy domain, strengthening the applied and clinical potential of NW in people with PD. Future studies are needed to determine the efficacy of walking training without poles in subjects with PD.

The "Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology" Journal Club Series: PhysioMechanics of Human Locomotion

We are glad to introduce the Third Journal Club of Volume five, the third issue. This edition is focused on relevant studies published in the last years in the field of PhysioMechanics of Human Locomotion, chosen by our Editorial Board members and their colleagues. We hope to stimulate your curiosity in this field and to share with you the passion for the Sports Medicine and Movement Sciences seen also from the scientific point of view. The Editorial Board members wish you an inspiring lecture.

Nordic walking influence on biomechanical parameters: a systematic review

INTRODUCTION

Nordic walking (NW) as a form of physical activity has been shown to have benefits in various domains, but little is known about the effect of NW on more specific biomechanical parameters. The purpose is to determine the impact of NW on the following parameters: walking speed/distance, muscle activation, spatiotemporal parameters, kinematics and ground reaction force.

EVIDENCE ACQUISITION

A literature search was carried out in different databases from October 2008 to October 2018. This review was conducted and reported in accordance with the PRISMA statement. Finally, 42 studies with a median PEDro Score of 5.5/10 were included.

EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS

The included studies reported increased walking distance (+14.8%, P<0.05), walking speed (+25.5%, P<0.05), and stride length (+10.4%, P<0.05), but decreased cadence (-6.2%, P<0.05). NW generally increased: muscle activation and strength for upper limbs; upper and lower limb range of motion, and ground reaction force.

CONCLUSIONS

NW has beneficial effects on many biomechanical parameters. It appears to be an effective way of doing physical activity and could be used in physical rehabilitation or in daily life.

Effects of Nordic Walking on Gait Symmetry in Mild Parkinson’s Disease

Individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) have gait asymmetries, and exercise therapy may reduce the differences between more and less affected limbs. The Nordic walking (NW) training may contribute to reducing the asymmetry in upper and lower limb movements in people with PD. We compared the effects of 11 weeks of NW aerobic training on asymmetrical variables of gait in subjects with mild PD. Fourteen subjects with idiopathic PD, age: 66.8 ± 9.6 years, and Hoehn and Yard stage of 1.5 points were enrolled. The kinematic analysis was performed pre and post-intervention. Data were collected at two randomized walking speeds (0.28 m·s−1 and 0.83 m·s−1) during five minutes on the treadmill without poles. The more affected and less affected body side symmetries (threshold at 5% between sides) of angular kinematics and spatiotemporal gait parameters were calculated. We used Generalized Estimating Equations with Bonferroni post hoc (α = 0.05). Maximal flexion of the knee (p = 0.007) and maximal abduction of the hip (p = 0.041) were asymmetrical pre and became symmetrical post NW intervention. The differences occurred in the knee was less affected and the hip was more affected. We concluded that 11 weeks of NW training promoted similarities in gait parameters and improved knee and hip angular parameters for PD subjects.

Modular Organization of Muscle Synergies to Achieve Movement Behaviors

Muscle synergy has been applied to comprehend how the central nervous system (CNS) controls movements for decades. However, it is not clear about the motion control mechanism and the relationship between motions and muscle synergies. In this paper, we designed two experiments to corroborate the hypothesis: (1) motions can be decomposed to motion primitives, which are driven by muscle synergy primitives and (2) variations of motion primitives in direction and scale are modulated by activation coefficients rather than muscle synergy primitives. Surface electromyographic (EMG) signals were recorded from nine muscles of the upper limb. Nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) was applied to extract muscle synergy vectors and corresponding activation coefficients. We found that synergy structures of different movement patterns were similar (α=0.05). The motion modulation indexes (MMI) among movement patterns in reaching movements showed apparent differences. Merging coefficients and reconstructed similarity of synergies between simple motions and complex motions were significant. This study revealed the motion control mechanism of the CNS and provided a rehabilitation and evaluation method for patients with motor dysfunction in exercise and neuroscience.

Defining gait patterns using Parallel Factor 2 (PARAFAC2): A new analysis of previously published data

Three-dimensional gait analysis (3D-GA) is commonly used to answer clinical questions of the form "which joints and what variables are most affected during when". When studying high-dimensional datasets, traditional dimension reduction methods (e.g. principal components analysis) require "data flattening", which may make the ensuing solutions difficult to interpret. The aim of the present study is to present a case study of how a multi-dimensional dimension reduction technique, Parallel Factor 2 (PARAFAC2), provides a clinically interpretable set of solutions to typical biomechanical datasets where different variables are collected during walking and running. Three-dimensional kinematic and kinetic data used for the present analyses came from two publicly available datasets on walking (n = 33) and running (n = 28). For each dataset, a four-dimensional array was constructed as follows: Mode A was time normalized cycle points; mode B was the number of participants multiplied by the number of speed conditions tested; mode C was the number of joint degrees of freedom, and mode D was variable (angle, velocity, moment, power). Five factors for walking and four factors for running were extracted which explained 79.23% and 84.64% of their dataset's variance. The factor which explains the greatest variance was swing-phase sagittal plane knee kinematics (walking), and kinematics and kinetics (running). Qualitatively, all extracted factors increased in magnitude with greater speed in both walking and running. This study is a proof of concept that PARAFAC2 is useful for performing dimension reduction and producing clinically interpretable solutions to guide clinical decision making.

Improvement of Attention, Executive Functions, and Processing Speed in Elderly Women as a Result of Involvement in the Nordic Walking Training Program and Vitamin D Supplementation

Research indicates that life satisfaction declines with age, and cognitive abilities are gradually reduced—mainly attentional functioning and cognitive processing speed. Therefore, scientists seek to find protective factors and test possible intervention programs; moderately intensive physical activity stands out as particularly promising. In this context, we evaluated the influence of Nordic Walking training supported by vitamin D supplementation (as this nutrient is especially deficient in older people in Poland) on the cognitive and psychological functioning of elderly women. A total of 52 healthy elderly women took part in a Nordic Walking training program complemented by vitamin D supplementation. Cognitive functioning was assessed with the Trail Making Test and the D2 Test of Attention. Quality of life and severity of depressive symptoms were measured with the Short Form Health Survey and the Beck Depression Inventory 2. Significant improvements in all aspects of cognitive functioning was observed (p = 0.01–0.47). The study also showed a decrease in depressive symptoms (p = 0.026). Physical activity and adequate levels of vitamin D can be the key factors in maintaining self-reliance in old age. Involvement in Nordic Walking training, supported by vitamin D supplementation, can strengthen the cognitive functioning of older people—reflected in higher attentional capabilities, better executive functions, and improved cognitive processing speed.

You are better off running than walking revisited: Does an acute vestibular imbalance affect muscle synergies?

It has been suggested that vestibular cues are inhibited for the benefit of spinal locomotor centres in parallel with the increase in locomotion speed. This study aimed at quantifying the influence of a transient vestibular tone imbalance (TVTI) on gait kinematics, muscle activity and muscle synergies during walking and running. Twelve participants walk or run at a self-selected speed with or without TVTI, which was generated by 10 body rotations just prior the locomotion task. Three-dimensional lower-limb kinematic was recorded simultaneously with the surface electromyographic (EMG) activity of 8 muscles to extract muscle synergies via non-negative matrix factorization. Under TVTI, there was an increased gait deviation in walking compared to running (22.8 ± 8.4° and 8.5 ± 3.6°, respectively; p < 0.01), while the number (n = 4) and the composition of the muscle synergies did not differ across conditions (p = 0.78). A higher increase (p < 0.05) in EMG activity due to TVTI was found during walking compared to running, especially during stance. These findings confirmed that the central nervous system inhibited misleading vestibular signals according to the increase in locomotion speed for the benefit of spinal mechanisms, expressed by the muscle synergies.