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. 2025 Feb 18;93(1):5.
doi: 10.3390/arm93010005.

Are There Differences in Postural Control and Muscular Activity in Individuals with COPD and with and Without Sarcopenia?

Walter Sepúlveda-Loyola  1 , Alejandro Álvarez-Bustos  2   3 , Juan José Valenzuela-Fuenzalida  4 , Carla María Ordinola Ramírez  5 , Carol Saldías Solis  6 , Vanessa Suziane Probst  7
Affiliations

Are There Differences in Postural Control and Muscular Activity in Individuals with COPD and with and Without Sarcopenia?

Walter Sepúlveda-Loyola et al. Adv Respir Med. .

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to compare balance performance and electromyographic activity in individuals with COPD, with and without sarcopenia.

Method: Thirty-five patients with COPD were classified with and without sarcopenia according to EWGSOP criteria. Balance was assessed using a force platform under four conditions: standing with feet apart and eyes opened (FHEO), eyes closed (FHEC), on an unstable surface (US), and on one leg (OLS). The surface electromyography activity of lower limb muscles and trunks was recorded. Additionally, the timed up and go test (TUG) and the Brief Balance Evaluation Systems Test (Brief-BESTest) were also utilized.

Results: Under the FHEO, FHEC, and US conditions, individuals with sarcopenia demonstrated increased velocities, larger oscillation amplitudes, and greater center of pressure displacements under the US condition (p ≤ 0.02). They also showed a higher activation of the scalene, sternocleidomastoid, and abdominal muscles during OLS, along with a reduced activation of the tibialis anterior during OLS and US, and a decreased activation of the vastus medialis during FHEC and US (p ≤ 0.04). Furthermore, sarcopenic COPD patients exhibited poorer performance on the TUG and Brief-BESTest compared to their non-sarcopenic counterparts (p ≤ 0.02).

Conclusions: Individuals with COPD and sarcopenia demonstrated greater instability in both bipedal stances and on unstable surfaces, as well as poorer performance in both dynamic and static balance assessments. Furthermore, these individuals exhibited reduced muscular activation in the lower limbs compared to those without sarcopenia.

Keywords: COPD; electromyography; motor activity; postural balance; sarcopenia.

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Conflict of interest statement

We declare no financial support or relationships that may pose a conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Intergroup comparison of percentage of muscular activation in each task. TA: tibialis anterior; GA: gastrocnemius; VM: vastus medialis; GM: gluteus medius; ES: erector spinae; RA: rectus abdominis; INT: external intercostal; SCM: sternocleidomastoid; SC: scalene. * Statistical significance at p < 0.05.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Correlation coefficients between force platform variables (COP.a; Vel-AP; Vel-ML; Amp-AP and Amp-ML; represented by the letters (A–E), respectively) and the percentage of muscle activation during the bipedal stance on an unstable surface in individuals with and without sarcopenia. COP-area: center of pressure displacement area; Vel-AP: center of pressure displacement velocity in anterior–posterior direction; Vel-ML: center of pressure displacement velocity in medial–lateral direction; Amp-AP: amplitude of the movement of COP in antero-posterior direction; Amp-ML: amplitude of the movement of COP in medial–lateral direction; TA: tibialis anterior, VM: vastus medialis; SC: scalene.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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