Development of a normative base for neurological pathologies based on posturography and electromyography

• Autor(a) principal: Teixeira, Emanuela Cristina Marcos
• Data de Publicação: 2018
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10362/71031
• topic: Posturography; Electromyography; Posture; Postural Control; Balance; Stroke; Domínio/Área Científica::Engenharia e Tecnologia::Engenharia Médica

A correct posture is preserved due to the normal recruitment of the muscles by the postural control system. Postural dysfunctions, especially adjustments to the standing position of stroke patients, have been a relevant clinical challenge in the rehabilitation process. These dysfunctions have significant repercussions on the performance of everyday activities. An evaluation of the postural oscillations in stroke patients allows to elaborate a postural profile, which could be significant on the development of special rehabilitation programs. For this reason, the aim of this study is to identify the postural adjustments in the standing position performed by the stroke patients, combining electromyography and posturography. To achieve this goal, a protocol was developed in order to create a profile of the postural modifications in the standing position of the healthy subjects, to help at the clinical environment. A group of 43 healthy subjects participated in this work, with ages between 18 and 55 years old, and were performed re-tests for each subject on the day following the first test. Also, a sample of 10 ischemic stroke patients attending the Centro de Medicina e Reabilitação de Alcoitão (CMRA) participated in this study. Afterwards, some conclusions could be extracted from the results. By analyzing EMG and COP results of both samples, it was concluded subjects studied presented a bigger body sway and higher values of muscle activation in tasks with no visual information. Also, was detected that, in the healthy population, Rectus Abdominis were constantly and similarly activated throughout the all protocol, suggesting their importance in guaranteeing an upright standing position. Finally, in the stroke sample of 10 patients, were noticed higher values of muscular activation, compared to the healthy sample, and a big muscle tone on the right side.