EMG analysis of the influence of a water environment on the rehabilitation of patients with Parkinson’s disease

The main goal of the experiment was to compare electrical activity in selected muscles: m. tibialis anterior, m. gastrocnemius, m. rectus femoris, m. biceps femoris and mm. erectores spinae, at the TH/L transition level patients with Parkinson’s disease when walking on dry land and in a water environment, using surface electromyography. The experimental set consisted of five subjects, two men and three women, aged 67.4 ± 7.1. A surface EMG was used to measure muscle activity in the m. tibialis anterior, m. gastrocnemius, m. rectus femoris, m. biceps femoris and mm. erectores spinae at the TH/L transition level. The resultant EMG signal was rectified and then the normalized muscle activity level was evaluated for walking in various environments: on dry land and in water. Results showed identical normalized activity of monitored muscles in a water environment, which indicates a permanent effect of the pathological central programme accompanying Parkinson’s disease, where the coordination pattern typical for a water environment fails to occur.