Spatiotemporal and muscle activation adaptations during overground walking in response to lower body added mass

Lower-extremity exoskeletons have been used in rehabilitation and performance augmentation for the past two decades. An exoskeleton adds a significant load to certain segments of the user's body and the underlying science about the effects of adding mass to the different lower-body segments is limited.

What are the adaptive changes that occur when mass is placed on three lower body segments (pelvis, thigh, and shank)?

Healthy adults (n = 24) completed 5 overground walking trials for 7 added mass conditions. The seven added mass conditions included a Baseline (no-load) condition, + 2 and + 4 lb on either the shanks or the thighs, and + 8 and + 16 lb on the pelvis. Spatiotemporal metrics, surface electromyography (EMG) data from 5 lower-limb muscles, and ground reaction force data were analyzed and compared between conditions.

Pelvis mass of 16 lb increased the double support time (p < 0.001) and decreased the single support time (p < 0.001) from the Baseline. Loading rate for none of the added mass conditions were significantly different from the Baseline. The highest activation of the considered thigh muscles and gastrocnemius generally occurred when High Mass was added either to the pelvis or the thigh.

The results demonstrate how added mass affects muscle activity, which could inform design of EMG-based exoskeleton controllers. With respect to spatiotemporal changes, results indicate that adding masses equal to or greater than 16 lb on the pelvis can cause significant differences when compared to unloaded walking. This finding implies that all other mass loadings in this study, regardless of location, are regulated. Thus, as a guideline to exoskeleton design, we recommend mass distributions over the pelvis and the thigh to take advantage of the larger muscle groups in adapting to the added mass.