Surface electromyography to identify top-down modulation in complete chronic spinal cord injury

Complete spinal cord injury (SCI) is characterized by permanent loss of nerve impulse propagation through the injury level leading to complete loss of voluntary muscle contraction. However, clinically undetectable top-down modulation of lower limbs might be present and can be evidenced using surface...

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Published inEuropean journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine Vol. 58; no. 1; pp. 144 - 149
Main Authors SIMÃO, Camila R., DE HOLANDA, Ledycnarf J., URBINI, Lilian F., LACERDA, Matheus O., FERNANDES, Karina, DA SILVA, Patrícia M., MORYA, Edgard, LINDQUIST, Ana R.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Italy Edizioni Minerva Medica 01.02.2022
Subjects
Electromyography - methods
Humans
Movement
Muscle Contraction
Muscle Spasticity - complications
Muscle, Skeletal - physiology
Spinal Cord Injuries - rehabilitation
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Summary:Complete spinal cord injury (SCI) is characterized by permanent loss of nerve impulse propagation through the injury level leading to complete loss of voluntary muscle contraction. However, clinically undetectable top-down modulation of lower limbs might be present and can be evidenced using surface electromyography (sEMG). A subject with complete chronic SCI and no spasticity presents voluntary modulation of sEMG signal during a task-specific activity associated with sensory input. We present for the first time the spectral characterization of sEMG signal in response to orthostatic training associated with voluntary movement attempts in complete SCI. Behavior of sEMG signal varied according to kinematic properties of movement, reinforcing the voluntary influence of efferent pathways on motor output. Our findings will contribute to elaborate evaluation protocols to investigate the preservation of corticospinal activities, and to evolve more accessible strategies in a clinical setting.
Bibliography:Authors’ contributions.—Camila R. Simão has given substantial contributions to research project organization and execution, data acquisition, statistical analysis and manuscript writing, Ledycnarf J. de Holanda to research project organization and execution, data acquisition and manuscript critical revision, Lilian F. Urbini, Matheus O. Lacerda and Karina da S. Fernandes to data acquisition, Patrícia M. da Silva to manuscript translation and critical revision, Edgard Morya to research project conception, statistical analysis and manuscript critical revision, Ana R. Lindquist to manuscript critical revision. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Acknowledgements.—The authors would like to acknowledge the Santos Dumont Institute (ISD), the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte and the Brazilian Ministry of Education (MEC) for their assistance during the research. The authors also acknowledge Probatus Academic Services for providing scientific language revision and editing.
Funding.—This study was funded by ISD and CAPES.
Conflicts of interest.—The authors certify that there is no conflict of interest with any financial organization regarding the material discussed in the manuscript.
ISSN:1973-9087
1973-9095
DOI:10.23736/S1973-9087.21.06878-7