Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Mar 12:9:131.
doi: 10.3389/fneur.2018.00131. eCollection 2018.

Stroke-Related Changes in the Complexity of Muscle Activation during Obstacle Crossing Using Fuzzy Approximate Entropy Analysis

Ying Chen  1   2 , Huijing Hu  3 , Chenming Ma  1   2 , Yinwei Zhan  4 , Na Chen  2 , Le Li  2 , Rong Song  1
Affiliations

Stroke-Related Changes in the Complexity of Muscle Activation during Obstacle Crossing Using Fuzzy Approximate Entropy Analysis

Ying Chen et al. Front Neurol. .

Abstract

This study investigated the complexity of the electromyography (EMG) of lower limb muscles when performing obstacle crossing tasks at different heights in poststroke subjects versus healthy controls. Five poststroke subjects and eight healthy controls were recruited to perform different obstacle crossing tasks at various heights (randomly set at 10, 20, and 30% of the leg's length). EMG signals were recorded from bilateral biceps femoris (BF), rectus femoris (RF), medial gastrocnemius, and tibialis anterior during obstacle crossing task. The fuzzy approximate entropy (fApEn) approach was used to analyze the complexity of the EMG signals. The fApEn values were significantly smaller in the RF of the trailing limb during the swing phase in poststroke subjects than healthy controls (p < 0.05), which may be an indication of smaller number and less frequent firing rates of the motor units. However, during the swing phase, there were non-significant increases in the fApEn values of BF and RF in the trailing limb of the stroke group compared with those of healthy controls, resulting in a coping strategy when facing challenging tasks. The fApEn values that increased with height were found in the BF of the leading limb during the stance phase and in the RF of the trailing limb during the swing phase (p < 0.05). The reason for this may have been a larger muscle activation associated with the increase in obstacle height. This study demonstrated a suitable and non-invasive method to evaluate muscle function after a stroke.

Keywords: electromyography; fuzzy approximate entropy; gait; obstacle crossing; stroke.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(A) The diagram of obstacle and force plate; (B) flow diagram of the procedure of data collection and storage; and (C) diagram of the gait cycle of obstacle cycle.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The details of fuzzy approximate entropy (fApEn) values of each height for trailing limb during stance phases. (A) The fApEn values of rectus femoris (RF); (B) the fApEn values of biceps femoris (BF). (C) The fApEn values of tibialis anterior (TA); (D) the fApEn values of medial gastrocnemius (MG).
Figure 3
Figure 3
The details of fuzzy approximate entropy (fApEn) values of each height for trailing limb during swing phases. (A) The fApEn values of rectus femoris (RF); (B) the fApEn values of biceps femoris (BF). (C) The fApEn values of tibialis anterior (TA); (D) the fApEn values of medial gastrocnemius (MG). *Significant effect between groups. The bar (-) indicates significant effect between heights.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The details of fuzzy approximate entropy (fApEn) values of each height for leading limb during swing phases. (A) The fApEn values of rectus femoris (RF); (B) the fApEn values of biceps femoris (BF). (C) The fApEn values of tibialis anterior (TA); (D) the fApEn values of medial gastrocnemius (MG).
Figure 5
Figure 5
The details of fuzzy approximate entropy (fApEn) values of each height for leading limb during stance phases. (A) The fApEn values of rectus femoris (RF); (B) the fApEn values of biceps femoris (BF). (C) The fApEn values of tibialis anterior (TA); (D) the fApEn values of medial gastrocnemius (MG). The bar (-) indicates significant effect between heights.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Batchelor FA, Mackintosh SF, Said CM, Hill KD. Falls after stroke. Int J Stroke (2012) 7(6):482.10.1111/j.1747-4949.2012.00796.x - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mackintosh SF, Goldie P, Hill K. Falls incidence and factors associated with falling in older, community-dwelling, chronic stroke survivors (> 1 year after stroke) and matched controls. Aging Clin Exp Res (2005) 17(2):74–81.10.1007/BF03324577 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Pinter MM, Brainin M. Rehabilitation after stroke in older people. Maturitas (2012) 71(2):104–8.10.1016/j.maturitas.2011.11.011 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Weerdesteyn V, De NM, van Duijnhoven HJ, Geurts AC. Falls in individuals with stroke. J Rehabil Res Dev (2008) 45(8):1195.10.1682/JRRD.2007.09.0145 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chen HL, Lu TW. Comparisons of the joint moments between leading and trailing limb in young adults when stepping over obstacles. Gait Posture (2006) 23(1):69.10.1016/j.gaitpost.2004.12.001 - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources