Muscle activation of lower limb during walking in elderly individuals with sarcopenia: A pilot study

Sarcopenia is a muscle disease that can lead to a decrease in muscle mass and strength. Patients with sarcopenia usually have gait disorders and a higher risk of falls. At present, muscle activation of lower limb during walking in patients with sarcopenia is not clear, making it difficult to find effective rehabilitation training. In this study, we aim to investigate muscle activation of lower limb during walking in elderly individuals with sarcopenia. We collected surface EMG signals from the tibialis anterior (TA), lateral gastrocnemius (GL), rectus femoris (RF), and biceps femoris (BF) muscles during walking. Results showed that differences of muscle activation between sarcopenia patients and healthy elderly during walking are mainly reflected in the shank. Specially, RMS of TA was statistically significantly higher in sarcopenia patients during swing phase (p=0.005). Modulation index of GL was significantly higher in sarcopenia patients during pre-swing phase (p=0.01). Coactivation index of TA-GL was significantly lower in sarcopenia patients during single stance phase. A significant strong correlation was also observed between RMS of GL and step length (r=0.863, p=0.012) in sarcopenia patients. These results indicated that differences of muscle activation in shank may contribute to gait disorders in sarcopenia patients. It is recommended that exercise intervention strategies for sarcopenia patients should focus on shank muscles.