Martinez F.G.1, Mello A.I.1, Loureiro Chaves R.F.1, Pacheco A.M.1
1Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, School of Physical Education, Physical Therapy and Dance, Physical Education Department, Porto Alegre, Brazil
Background: Postural Automatisms are activation or inhibition of muscles for restore body balance. Anticipatory Postural Adjustment (APA) occurs previously to the disturbance and Compensatory Postural Adjustment (CPA) occurs after a disturbance. Aquatic Therapy can be used to manage balance disorders related to deficits in these automatisms, although little is known about the motor behaviour of a body immersed in heated water.
Purpose: Analyze and compare the electromyographic activity of the spine stabilizing muscles during the anticipatory and compensatory postural automatism triggered by exercises of upper and lower limbs with different resistances performed by healthy individuals in aquatic environment.
Methods: The subjects of the sample performed hip abduction and shoulder abduction and flexion against resistance of drag force and free weight in aquatic enviroment. Electromyographic activity of APA and CPA were analyzed from the muscles bilaterally: spinal erector, internal oblique, deltoid and gluteus medium. Statistical analysis was performed by t test for paired samples (parametric data) or Wilcoxon test (nonparametric data), and analysis of M-Modes by principal component analysis (PCA). The significance index adopted was α 0.05.
Results: APA EMG activity showed higher values in the shoulder unilatteral abduction compared with the flexion. Upper limb movements with drag showed higher EMG activity values that those with weight, both for APA and CPA. Movements with weight showed parallel patterns (M Modes) of muscle activation and inhibition. In general, left gluteus medius, right spinal erector and right internal oblique were more activated than other muscles. CPA seems to be larger than APA in aquatic environment.
Conclusion(s): The data shows that upper limb voluntary movements executed in immersion in the aquatic environment elicited anticipatory and compensatory postural activity from muscles of the trunk and lower limbs. This postural activity varies in intensity and coordination of activation/ inhibition of muscles according to the load and movement executed. In aquatic environment, CPA seems to be larger than APA.
Implications: The results of this research provide data which can be used in clinical practice. Moreover, this study gives information for better understanding of motor behavior in the aquatic environment and for prescription of aquatic exercises for muscle strengthening and rehabilitation of body balance.
Funding acknowledgements: Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Topic: Human movement analysis
Ethics approval: This research (30155), was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
