Analysis of Intracerebral Activity during Reflex Locomotion Stimulation According to Vojta’s Principle

• Published in: Applied sciences Vol. 12; no. 4; p. 2225
• Main Authors: Martínek, Milan, Pánek, David, Nováková, Tereza, Pavlů, Dagmar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.02.2022
• Subjects: Breast; EEG; Experiments; Exports; Frequencies; Locomotion; Musculoskeletal diseases; Musculoskeletal system; reflex locomotion; Registration; sLORETA; somatomotor cortex; Statistical analysis; Stimulation; Stroke; Vojta’s therapy
• ISSN: 2076-3417; 2076-3417
• DOI: 10.3390/app12042225

Vojta’s therapy is a widely used approach in both the prevention and therapy of musculoskeletal disorders. Changes in the musculoskeletal system have been described repeatedly, but the principles of the approach have not yet been clarified. The objective of our study was to evaluate changes of intracerebral activity using electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA) that arise during reflex locomotion stimulation of the breast trigger zone according to Vojta’s therapy. Seventeen healthy women took part in the experiment (aged 20–30 years old). EEG activity was recorded 5 min prior to the reflex locomotion stimulation, during stimulation, and 5 min after the stimulation. The obtained data were subsequently processed in the sLORETA program and statistically evaluated at the significance level p ≤ 0.05. The analysis found statistically significant differences in the frequency bands alpha-2, beta-1, and beta-2 between the condition prior to stimulation and the actual stimulation in BAs 6, 7, 23, 24, and 31 and between the resting condition prior to stimulation, and the condition after the stimulation was terminated in the frequency bands alpha-1, alpha-2, beta-1, and beta-2 in BAs 3, 4, 6, and 24. The results showed that reflex locomotion stimulation according to Vojta’s therapy modulates electrical activity in the brain areas responsible for movement planning and regulating and performing the movement.