Electromyographic activity of the longissimus dorsi muscles in horses during trotting on a treadmill.
Abstract: To use electromyography (EMG) to measure physiologic activity of the longissimus dorsi muscles of horses during trotting on a treadmill. Methods: 15 adult horses (5 to 20 years old that weighed 450 to 700 kg) that did not have clinical signs of back pain. Methods: Data were recorded for each horse during trotting on a treadmill at speeds of 2.6 to 4.4 m/s. Surface electromyography was recorded bilaterally from the longissimus dorsi muscles at the levels of T12, T16, and L3. Results: In each motion cycle, 2 EMG maxima were found at the end of the diagonal stance phases. The EMG activity peaked slightly later at L3 than at T12 and T16. Maximum EMG amplitudes were highest at T12 and decreased caudally, with mean +/- SD values of 4.51 +/- 1.20 mV at T12, 3.00 +/- 0.83 mV at T16, and 1.78 +/- 0.67 mV at L3. Mean minimum EMG activity was 1.30 +/- 0.63 mV at T12, 0.83 +/- 0.35 mV at T16, and 0.80 +/- 0.39 mV at L3. The relative amplitudes (ie, [maximum - minimum]/maximum) were 67 +/- 11% at T12, 66 +/- 8% at T16, and 71 +/- 8% at L3. Conclusions: Activity of the longissimus dorsi muscles is mainly responsible for stabilization of the vertebral column against dynamic forces. The difference between minimum and maximum activity may allow application of this method as a clinical tool. Data reported here can serve as reference values for comparison with values from clinically affected horses.
Publication Date: 2004-02-21 PubMed ID: 14974571DOI: 10.2460/ajvr.2004.65.155Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Comparative Study
- Journal Article
Summary
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The study uses electromyography (EMG) to monitor the physiological activity of horses’ longissimus dorsi muscles during a trot on a treadmill. The results may allow its application as a clinical tool and can be used as a reference for comparison in clinically affected horses.
Methods
- The study was conducted on a total of 15 adult horses, each aged between 5 to 20 years and weighing between 450 to 700 kg. All of these horses had no clinical signs of back pain.
- The data was recorded while each horse trotted on a treadmill at speeds between 2.6 to 4.4 m/s.
- Surface electromyography (EMG), a diagnostic technique used for recording and evaluating the electric potential produced by muscle cells, was used to record activity from the longissimus dorsi muscles. The records were made bilaterally at three different levels: T12, T16, and L3.
Results
- During each motion cycle, EMG registered two maximum values at the end of the diagonal stance phases.
- The EMG activity peak was slightly later at the L3 level compared to T12 and T16.
- The maximum EMG amplitudes were highest at the T12 level and the values decreased gradually towards the back. The measured mean +/- SD values for each level were 4.51 +/- 1.20 mV at T12, 3.00 +/- 0.83 mV at T16, and 1.78 +/- 0.67 mV at L3.
- The minimum values for EMG activities were 1.30 +/- 0.63 mV at T12, 0.83 +/- 0.35 mV at T16, and 0.80 +/- 0.39 mV at L3.
- The relative amplitudes, computed as (maximum – minimum)/maximum, were computed to be 67 +/- 11% at T12, 66 +/- 8% at T16, and 71 +/- 8% at L3.
Conclusions
- The study concludes that the activity of the longissimus dorsi muscles is primarily responsible for the stabilization of the vertebral column against dynamic forces while trotting. This was derived from the patterns observed in the EMG readings.
- The difference between the minimum and maximum activity can potentially be used as a clinical tool.
- The data from this study can also serve as reference values, enabling comparison with values from clinically affected horses.
Cite This Article
APA
Licka TF, Peham C, Frey A.
(2004).
Electromyographic activity of the longissimus dorsi muscles in horses during trotting on a treadmill.
Am J Vet Res, 65(2), 155-158.
https://doi.org/10.2460/ajvr.2004.65.155 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Clinic of Orthopaedics in Ungulates, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Biomechanical Phenomena
- Electromyography / veterinary
- Horses / physiology
- Motor Activity / physiology
- Muscle, Skeletal / physiology
Citations
This article has been cited 15 times.- Pécresse B, Moiroud C, Hanne-Poujade S, Hatrisse C, De Azevedo E, Coudry V, Jacquet S, Audigié F, Chateau H. Group and Individual Changes in Spinal Mobility During a 12-Week Rehabilitation Program Including Swimming in Horses with Axial Musculoskeletal Lesions. Animals (Basel) 2025 Dec 30;16(1).
- Domino M, Borowska M, Stefanik E, Domańska-Kruppa N, Skibniewski M, Turek B. The Effect of Filtering on Signal Features of Equine sEMG Collected During Overground Locomotion in Basic Gaits. Sensors (Basel) 2025 May 8;25(10).
- Domańska-Kruppa N, Wierzbicka M, Stefanik E. Advances in the Clinical Diagnostics to Equine Back Pain: A Review of Imaging and Functional Modalities. Animals (Basel) 2024 Feb 23;14(5).
- St George LB, Clayton HM, Sinclair JK, Richards J, Roy SH, Hobbs SJ. Electromyographic and Kinematic Comparison of the Leading and Trailing Fore- and Hindlimbs of Horses during Canter. Animals (Basel) 2023 May 25;13(11).
- St George L, Spoormakers TJP, Roy SH, Hobbs SJ, Clayton HM, Richards J, Serra Bragança FM. Reliability of surface electromyographic (sEMG) measures of equine axial and appendicular muscles during overground trot. PLoS One 2023;18(7):e0288664.
- Ursini T, Shaw K, Levine D, Richards J, Adair HS. Electromyography of the Multifidus Muscle in Horses Trotting During Therapeutic Exercises. Front Vet Sci 2022;9:844776.
- St George L, Clayton HM, Sinclair J, Richards J, Roy SH, Hobbs SJ. Muscle Function and Kinematics during Submaximal Equine Jumping: What Can Objective Outcomes Tell Us about Athletic Performance Indicators?. Animals (Basel) 2021 Feb 5;11(2).
- Jiang JP, Niu XG, Dai C, Ma K, Xu HY, Cheng SX, Zhang ZW, Duan F, Zhu X, Wang YT, Chen XY, Zhang S. Neurological functional evaluation based on accurate motions in big animals with traumatic brain injury. Neural Regen Res 2019 Jun;14(6):991-996.
- Zsoldos RR, Voegele A, Krueger B, Schroeder U, Weber A, Licka TF. Long term consistency and location specificity of equine gluteus medius muscle activity during locomotion on the treadmill. BMC Vet Res 2018 Apr 6;14(1):126.
- Valentin S, Licka TF. Comparative need for spinal stabilisation between quadrupedal and bipedal locomotion. Comp Exerc Physiol 2015;11(2):95-105.
- Vögele AM, Zsoldos RR, Krüger B, Licka T. Novel Methods for Surface EMG Analysis and Exploration Based on Multi-Modal Gaussian Mixture Models. PLoS One 2016;11(6):e0157239.
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