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Kinematics, dynamics, and muscle-synergy analysis of single-leg Yoga postures

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Abstract

This paper compares ten regular Yoga practitioners with ten nonpractitioners while performing two single-leg support Yoga postures: Vrksasana (tree posture) and Natarajasana (dancer posture). Thirty-three reflective markers’ trajectories, ground-reaction forces, and EMGs from eleven muscles were registered. Inverse kinematics and dynamics analyses were performed using an OpenSim multibody model. Muscle synergies were extracted from the EMG signals using nonnegative matrix factorization. The required number of synergies to reconstruct the original signal was estimated using a variability-threshold criterion. An additional analysis was performed using the synergy-coordination-index estimation from a minimum global set of eight synergies selected using a similarity index. The Yoga group adopted a more abducted hip at the support leg associated with a higher lumbar bending in the Vrksasana posture. They also used fewer muscle synergies than controls, which correlated positively with the center of pressure rambling trajectory variability, suggesting decreased control complexity. For the Natarajasana, Yoga practitioners showed higher average hip-flexion angle and hip-flexion torque but no differences in synergy parameters. When both groups were combined, the synergy coordination index for Natarajasana was smaller than for Vrksasana, indicating that Natarajasana requires a larger synergy space and is a more challenging task.

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Acknowledgements

This study was financed by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil (CAPES) – Finance Code 001, by CNPq, FAPERJ, and FINEP.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biomedical Engineering Program, COPPE, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Luciano Luporini Menegaldo, Dafne Pires Pinto, Henrique Lelis Clemente de Oliveira & Pedro Vieira Sarmet Moreira

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  1. Luciano Luporini Menegaldo
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  2. Dafne Pires Pinto
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Correspondence to Luciano Luporini Menegaldo.

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Menegaldo, L.L., Pinto, D.P., Clemente de Oliveira, H.L. et al. Kinematics, dynamics, and muscle-synergy analysis of single-leg Yoga postures. Multibody Syst Dyn 58, 137–155 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11044-023-09887-8

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