Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of hip proprioceptors on soleus stretch reflex excitability in standing humans. A custom-made device to stretch the ankle extensors was mounted on the lower leg portion of a gait orthosis and was used to elicit stretch reflex responses while standing. Six subjects with motor complete spinal cord injury (SCI) and six spinal intact subjects were placed in the orthosis, and stretch reflex responses were elicited when static and/or dynamic hip joint angle changes were imposed. We found that static hip extension significantly enhanced the stretch reflex responses as compared to the neutral position and the hip flexion position only in the SCI group. The EMG magnitude induced by hip extension was 142 ± 16.6% greater than that induced by the neutral position. When the leg was dynamically swung, the reflex responses also changed with the phase of the hip angle in the SCI group; in particular, the reflex amplitude was enhanced with hip extension and in the transition phase from flexion to extension. Although the magnitude of the changes was less than that in the SCI group, a similar type of modulation was found in the normal group. Given the fact that the persons with SCI had lost the neural connection between higher nervous center and the paralyzed lower limb muscles, the mechanism underlying the present results can be attributed to the peripheral afferent input due to the hip angle changes. We concluded that hip mediated afferent input has a significant influence on the excitability modulation of the soleus stretch reflex pathway. Such neural modulation may play a role in the mechanism responsible for the phase-dependent modulation of the stretch reflex while walking.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank H. Otsuka for the preparation of the experimental device. This work was supported by a grant from the Japanese Ministry of Health and Labor and the Japanese Society for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities.
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Kawashima, N., Yano, H., Ohta, Y. et al. Stretch reflex modulation during imposed static and dynamic hip movements in standing humans. Exp Brain Res 174, 342–350 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-006-0470-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-006-0470-2