Anu S¹, Madhava Kumar V², Venkatesh³, Vijay Anto J⁴
¹Professor and Head,
Department of Physiology,
²Final year MBBS,
³Consultant in Neurology,
⁴Statistician,
Department of Community Medicine,
Velammal Medical College
& Hospital,
Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

• Background: The coordination of limb movements during locomotion is by the central pattern generators (CPG’s) in spinal cord, regulated by supraspinal centres. Stimulation/Movement of upper limb muscles elicited electrical activity in lower limb muscles in neurologically intact subjects. The present study aims to record electrical activity in lower limbs of acute spinal cord injury (SCI) patients during passive and active coordinated upper limb movements.
• Materials and Methods: : Seventeen acute spinal cord injury patients in the age group of 30-60 years were involved in the present study. 7 acted as control and 10 were in the study group. Electromyographic (EMG) activity was recorded in Quadriceps femoris , Hamstring, Tibialis anterior, Soleus, Gastrocnemius muscles of the lower limbs after different patterns of coordinated movements of the upper limbs using scorpio 2p/4p EMG, Allengers medical system limited, Chandigarh. Results were analysed with Fisher’s Exact Test.
• Results: EMG activity in paretic lower limbs was greater for active (2kg ˃ 1kg load) than passive upper limb movements.
• Conclusion: Rhythmic arm movements could generate activity in paretic lower limb muscles by stimulating CPG’s and this would be an additional effective rehabilitative therapy.

Keywords: EMG, limb movements, spinal cord Injury