A closer look at electromyographic correlates of locomotor performance after stroke. Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology

摘要

The paper of Den Otter et al. (2006) tackles an important issue that has received much attention over the last decades: how do we quantify locomotor impairments and recovery in persons with post-stroke hemiparesis? In the abundant body of literature dealing with the topic, some consensus has arisen, such as the relationships between muscle paresis (low electromyographic (EMG) amplitude) or weakness (low joint moment or force) and poor locomotor performance after stroke (Olney et al., 1994). There is also general agreement on the presence of an abnormal timing of lower limb muscle activation during locomotion. The exact nature and role of such altered timing in the poor performance and recovery of locomotion in persons with stroke, however, is still debated. In fact, when examining the literature on muscle temporal patterning during locomotion after stroke, one has to deal with discrepancies between the different studies, which may arise from the heterogeneity in the expression of locomotor impairments and recovery in the stroke population but also from methodological factors.