Nikki Harris, Center for Healthy Living & Longevity, The University of Texas at Arlington,

Arlington, TX. Advisors: Dr. Mark Ricard, Dr. Chris Ray, Dr. Judy Wilson.

. The EMG signals were full wave rectified and low pass filtered with a 4th order
When loss of balance occurs, most people will rely on either an ankle strategy Table 1. Tibialis Anterior Reflex Responses for Forward Floor Translations (Mean SD)
recursive Butterworth digital filter (50 Hz cutoff). The reflex onset latency was
which is used for small movement adjustments, a hip method for larger Variable No Weighted Vest Weighted Vest Dep. t-test sig.
defined as the time from the start of the floor acceleration until the EMG signal was
movement adjustments, or take a step to prevent falling. In normal subjects,
5 SDs above baseline, see Figure 1 for an explanation. The peak latency was Reflex Amplitude 197.07 99.7 213.39 99.2 0.408
the muscles corrective movements begin within 70-100 ms which leads to the
defined as the time from the start of floor acceleration to the peak EMG response. Integrated EMG 36.00 58.4 48.76 91.3 0.316
re-positioning the persons center of gravity.
The peak amplitude was the peak Peak Latency 157.53 18.7 151.64 14.6 0.254
EMG within the first 180 ms after the Figure 1. Definition of computed variables. Onset Latency 107.08 6.8 108.11 14.4 0.830
start of floor acceleration. The reflex Duration 110.97 44.7 101.56 32.1 0.497
duration was defined as the time
from the first EMG point above 5 SD The mean sd for the postural reflex variables in the backward floor translations
x baseline until the last point above with and without the weighted vest are shown in Table 2. There was no
The purpose of this experiment was to determine if wearing a weighted vest 5 SD x baseline. The IEMG was the difference in either the peak or the onset latency for the gastrocnemius muscle
would cause a difference in the reflexes of the individual when a loss of balance area under the EMG curve from the with and without the weighted vest. While not significant, the EMG amplitude
was induced. first EMG point above 5 SD x and IEMG was greater in the weighted vest condition.
baseline until the end of the floor
acceleration. Table 2. Gastrocnemius Reflex Responses for Backward Floor Translations (Mean SD)
Variable No Weighted Vest Weighted Vest Dep. t-test sig.
Statistical Methods Reflex Amplitude 108.73 44.7 117.97 64.8 0.692
Dependent t-tests were used to Integrated EMG 2.98 2.1 14.20 25.8 0.317
Twelve healthy college age volunteers (height, 163.8 cm; mass , 69.6 kg) served compare the effects of the weighted Peak Latency 136.61 19.9 137.22 15.6 0.856
as subjects. The subjects visited the lab on two different occasions: initial vest (no vest, vest) in the forward
Onset Latency 105.33 13.2 144.56 102.7 0.367
orientation and to practice the Motor Control Test (MCT) and eliminate the and backward floor translations for
Duration 62.78 13.2 67.28 17.7 0.331
possible learning effects, and a second time for the actual experiment. Each MCT the following dependent variables:
was performed using the NeuroCom Equitest balance system. The MCT test reflex amplitude, IEMG, peak
consisted included 3 forward and 3 backward perturbations (large-6 cm) with latency, onset latency and duration.
and without a weighted vest with the order counterbalanced. A protective Alpha was set at 0.05.
safety harness was worn for every test by every participant.
Postural reflexes are automatic responses that are initiated by feedback from
Surface EMG data were recorded from the gastrocnemius (Ga) and tibialis
somatosensory, vestibular and visual sensors. These automatic responses facilitate
anterior (Ta) muscles with single differential electrodes. The electrodes were
The data for six subjects were excluded as these subjects exhibited muscular corrective responses required to maintain postural orientation and equilibrium. It
placed on the midline of the muscle belly with the detection surface of the
preactivation prior to the floor perturbation. The mean sd for the postural reflex was anticipated that the weighted vest would alter both the magnitude of the EMG
sensor perpendicular to the direction of the muscle fibers and connected to a
variables in the forward floor translations with and without the weighted vest are response and the IEMG area. Further work on this project will focus on the role of
Bagnoli EMG system (Delsys, Boston, MA). A PCB single axis accelerometer
shown in Table 1. There was no difference in either the peak or the onset latency the muscles in stabilizing postural equilibrium following forward and backward
(Model 352C33) was encased in Styrofoam and rigidly attached to NeuroCom
for the tibialis anterior muscle with and without the weighted vest. While not floor translations in both young and elderly subjects.
Equitest force platform to measure floor perturbations. The EMG and
accelerometer signals were sampled at 1000 Hz using a National Instruments significant, the EMG amplitude and IEMG was greater in the weighted vest
(Austin, TX) PCI-6224, 16-bit A/D card. A Visual Basic.Net 2008 computer condition.
program was used for data collection and analysis.