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Determination of the correlation between muscle forces obtained from OpenSim and muscle activities obtained from electromyography in the elderly

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Abstract

Measurement of muscle forces related to aging can help to better identify the gait impairment mechanisms in the elderly. To this end, musculoskeletal modeling has been developed to estimate muscle forces. This study aimed to check the validity of OpenSim modeling (i.e., computed muscle control) approach in elderly subjects. Kinematic and kinetic data and Electromyography (EMG) signals for four different muscles were collected in nine healthy elderly males during walking. Dynamic simulation was done within OpenSim. Correlation analysis was performed to quantitatively compare the maximum estimated muscle forces with maximum measured muscle activities during the first double limb support, single limb support, and the second double limb support phases. The area-time plots of OpenSim and EMG data during gait cycle were obtained for qualitative assessment. In quantitative assessment, a low to moderate correlation was observed for the peak of muscle force and muscle activation of four muscles during sub phases of gait. The muscle forces pattern from OpenSim was found to be relatively similar to the muscle activity pattern from EMG especially for Gastrocnemius Medialis. A low to moderate consistency between OpenSim and EMG in the elderly can be explained by using a single mathematical estimation approach.

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Acknowledgements

The present study was driven from a dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy in Orthotics and Prosthetics by the corresponding author.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rehabilitation Sciences Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

    Mohammad T. Karimi

  2. Orthotics and Prosthetics Department, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Fatemeh Hemmati & Mohammad A. Mardani

  3. Department of Physical Education, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran

    Keyvan Sharifmoradi

  4. Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Shiraz University of Technology, Shiraz, Iran

    Seyed Iman Hosseini

  5. Ageing Department, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Reza Fadayevatan

  6. Department of Applied Physics, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland

    Amir Esrafilian

Authors
  1. Mohammad T. Karimi
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  2. Fatemeh Hemmati
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  3. Mohammad A. Mardani
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  4. Keyvan Sharifmoradi
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  5. Seyed Iman Hosseini
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  6. Reza Fadayevatan
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  7. Amir Esrafilian
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Correspondence to Fatemeh Hemmati.

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All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences committee, Ref number: IR.USWR.REC.1396.283) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all participants included in the study.

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Karimi, M.T., Hemmati, F., Mardani, M.A. et al. Determination of the correlation between muscle forces obtained from OpenSim and muscle activities obtained from electromyography in the elderly. Phys Eng Sci Med 44, 243–251 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13246-021-00973-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13246-021-00973-9

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