Relationship between electromyographic activity of the vastus lateralis while standing and the extent of bilateral simulated knee-flexion contractures.

Abstract

The effect of simulated bilateral knee-flexion contractures (KFC) on the electromyographic (EMG) activity of the vastus lateralis was studied by testing 10 normal subjects using surface EMG to test the hypothesis that the activity of the knee extensors would increase as a function of the severity of the contracture. The root mean square of the EMG activity was determined from four 4-s samples taken at 30-s intervals, during 2 min of standing in each of five positions of simulated KFC (0 degree, 10 degrees, 20 degrees, 30 degrees and 40 degrees). A randomly balanced order of conditions was used. KFC were simulated in each subject by means of an adjustable line from the subject's waist to the sole of each foot. An analysis of variance was used to contrast EMG activity, and a significant difference was found between each of the positions (P less than 0.05). The mean (+/- 1 SD) EMG activity, expressed as a percentage of the maximum voluntary contraction, was 0.3% (+/- 0.2) at 0 degree, 7.6% (+/- 5.6) at 10 degrees, 10.9% (+/- 7.6) at 20 degrees, 16.6% (+/- 12.4) at 30 degrees and 24.0% (+/- 14.0) at 40 degrees. A linear relationship was found (r2 = 0.986), expressed by the equation y = 0.62 + 0.56 x, where y represents EMG activity and x represents the extent of simulated KFC (P = 0.0007). The results provide insight into the increased knee extensor activity necessary to stand with KFC and underline the importance of treating this common disorder.