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Rectus femoris: its role in normal gait
T M Annaswamy1, C J Giddings, U Della Croce
1Harvard Medical School, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Objective:
To analyze the role of the rectus femoris muscle in nondisabled gait at various walking velocities using fine-wire dynamic electromyography.
Design:
Descriptive study. Fine-wire electromyography data were collected from the rectus femoris during level walking at four walking speeds. Rectus femoris activity patterns in the loading response phase and the pre- and initial-swing phase of the gait cycle were compared using paired t tests.
Setting:
A gait laboratory.
Subjects:
Ten nondisabled adult volunteers.
Main Outcome Measures:
Amplitude of rectus femoris activity in the loading response phase and the pre- and initial-swing phase during walking at four speeds.
Results:
There was a bimodal pattern of rectus femoris activity in all subjects, at all speeds, in both phases, with high variability in the onsets, durations, and amplitudes of activity, and paired t tests revealed no significant differences (p > .05) between phases at any walking speed.
Conclusion:
Activity in the rectus femoris in the pre- and initial-swing phase in nondisabled individuals at all speeds suggests that similar activity detected in individuals with stiff-legged gait may not be inappropriate.