Gait analysis of lumbar muscle activation patterns during constant speed locomotion using surface electromyography

This thesis reports research on analysis of the variance of surface electromyogram (sEMG) for healthy participants and people suffering with Lower Back Pain (LBP) when they are walking and running. SEMG signal recorded when the participants were walking and running on a treadmill. The strength and duration of the muscle activity for each heel strike were the features. The results indicate that there was no significant difference in the variance and in the change of variance over time of the amplitude between the two groups when the participants were walking. However when the participants were running, there was a significant difference in the two cohorts. While there was an increase in the total variance over the duration of the exercise for both the groups, the increase in variance of the LBP group was much greater (order of ten times) compared with the participants with healthy backs. The difference between the two groups was also very significant when observing the change of variance over the duration of the exercise. From these results, it is suggested that variance of sEMG of the muscles of the lower back, recorded when the participants are running, can be used to identify LBP patients.