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. 2020 Jun 30;17(13):4696.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph17134696.

Muscle Activation and Distribution during Four Test/Functional Tasks: A Comparison between Dry-Land and Aquatic Environments for Healthy Older and Young Adults

Ántonio Cuesta-Vargas  1   2 , Jaime Martín-Martín  3 , David Pérez-Cruzado  4 , Carlos L Cano-Herrera  1 , Javier Güeita Rodríguez  5   6 , Jose Antonio Merchán-Baeza  7 , Manuel González-Sánchez  1
Affiliations

Muscle Activation and Distribution during Four Test/Functional Tasks: A Comparison between Dry-Land and Aquatic Environments for Healthy Older and Young Adults

Ántonio Cuesta-Vargas et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: The use of rehabilitation protocols carried out in water has been progressively increasing due to the favorable physical properties of the water. Electromyography allows one to register muscle activity even under water.

Aim: To compare muscle activity between two groups (healthy young adults (HYA) and healthy older adults (HOA)) in two different environments (dry land and aquatic) using surface electromyography during the execution of four different test/functional movements.

Methods: Analytical cross-sectional study. HYA and HOA carried out four functional tasks (Step Up and Down, Sit To Stand test, Gait Initiation and Turns During Gait) in two different environments (dry land and aquatic). Absolute and relative muscle activation was compared between each group and between each environment. In addition, the stability of the measured was calculated through a test-retest (ICC 2:1).

Results: Within the same environment there were significant differences between young and older adults in three of the four functional tasks. In contrast, in the gait initiation, hardly any significant differences were found between the two groups analysed, except for the soleus and the anterior tibial. Measurement stability ranged from good to excellent.

Conclusions: Level of the musculature involvement presents an entirely different distribution when the test/functional task is performed on dry land or in water. There are differences both in the relative activation of the musculature and in the distribution of the partition of the muscles comparing older and young adults within the same environment.

Keywords: electromyography; healthy aging; posture; water.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Positioning of the electrodes according to the analyzed muscle. Figure composed from images extracted from the Megawin 3.0.1 program. RA = rectus abdomini; ES = erector spinae; RF = quadriceps-rectus femoris; BF = biceps femoris (long head); TA = tibialis anterior; GM = gastrocnemius medialis; VM = vastus medialis; SO = soleus.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Precentage of relative participation of analyzed muscles during for each one of the tests/movements analyzed, considering, on the one hand, the group that executes it (older/younger) and the execution environment (Dry/aquatic). BF: biceps femoris; ES: erector spinae; GM: gastrocnemius Medialis; RAA: rectus abdominis; RF: rectus femoris; SO: soletus; TA: tibialis anterior; VM: vastus medialis.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Comparison, within the same environment (dry land or aquatic) of normalized muscle activation between the teo groups analyzed.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Comparison, within the same group (elderly or young), of normalized muscle activation, in both settings (dry land or aquatic environment).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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