The Effects of Inclination (Up and Down) of the Treadmill on the Electromyogram Activities of the Forelimb and Hind limb Muscles at a Walk and a Trot in Thoroughbred Horses.
Abstract: It is important to know the effects of the inclination of a slope on the activity of each muscle, because training by running on a sloped track is commonly used for Thoroughbred racehorses. The effects of incline (from -6 to +6%) on the forelimbs and hind limbs during walking and trotting on a treadmill were evaluated by an integrated electromyogram (iEMG). The muscle activities in the forelimbs (5 horses) and hind limbs (4 horses) were measured separately. Two stainless steel wires were inserted into each of the brachiocephalicus (Bc), biceps brachii (BB), splenius (Sp), and pectoralis descendens (PD) in the forelimb experiment and into the longissimus dorsi (LD), vastus lateralis (VL), gluteus medius (GM), and biceps femoris (BF) in the hind limb experiment. The EMG recordings were taken at a sampling rate of 1,000 Hz. At a walk, the iEMG values for the forelimb were not significantly different under any of the inclinations. In the hind limb, the iEMG values for the GM and BF significantly decreased as the inclination decreased. At a trot, the iEMG values for the Bc in the forelimb significantly decreased as the inclination of the treadmill decreased. In the hind limb, the iEMG values for the LD, GM, and BF significantly decreased as the inclination decreased. Uphill exercise increased the iEMG values for the Bc, LD, GM, and BF, while downhill exercise resulted in little increase in the iEMG values. It was concluded that the effects of inclination on the muscle activities were larger for the uphill exercises, and for the hind limb muscles compared with the forelimb muscles.
Publication Date: 2014-12-15 PubMed ID: 25558180PubMed Central: PMC4266754DOI: 10.1294/jes.25.73Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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The research investigates how the angle of inclination (uphill or downhill) of a treadmill impacts the activity of various muscles in the forelimb and hind limb of Thoroughbred horses while walking or trotting.
Methodology
- The study measured electromyogram (EMG) activity in specific muscles of the forelimb and hind limb in 9 thoroughbred horses. Two different sets of muscles were used in the experiment: 5 horses for forelimb muscles – brachiocephalicus (Bc), biceps brachii (BB), splenius (Sp), pectoralis descendens (PD); and 4 for hind limb muscles – longissimus dorsi (LD), vastus lateralis (VL), gluteus medius (GM), biceps femoris (BF).
- To capture the data, the researchers inserted two stainless steel wires into each of the aforementioned muscles of the horses and conducted integrated electromyogram (iEMG) on a treadmill at various inclinations, from a -6% decline to a +6% incline.
- The EMG recordings were sampled at a rate of 1000 Hz to ensure sufficient data points for accurate interpretation and analysis.
Results
- Walking on a treadmill, regardless of the inclination, did not significantly alter the iEMG values for the forelimb muscles. However, for the hind limb muscles (GM and BF specifically), iEMG values decreased as the inclination decreased, suggesting less muscle activity on declines.
- In contrast, during trotting, the iEMG values for the Bc muscle in the forelimb significantly decreased as the treadmill’s inclination decreased. In the hind limb, the iEMG values for the LD, GM, and BF muscles significantly decreased as the inclination decreased.
- During uphill exercises, the iEMG values increased for the Bc, LD, GM, and BF muscles, indicating more muscle use. Downhill exercises showed less of an increase in iEMG values, suggesting smaller amounts of muscle activation.
Conclusion
- The researchers concluded that the influence of inclination on muscle activities was more pronounced for uphill exercises and for exercises involving hind limb muscles compared with forelimb muscles.
- These findings can be used to inform training regimens for Thoroughbred racehorses, as different muscle groups are activated more or less depending on the slope of the terrain.
Cite This Article
APA
Takahashi T, Matsui A, Mukai K, Ohmura H, Hiraga A, Aida H.
(2014).
The Effects of Inclination (Up and Down) of the Treadmill on the Electromyogram Activities of the Forelimb and Hind limb Muscles at a Walk and a Trot in Thoroughbred Horses.
J Equine Sci, 25(4), 73-77.
https://doi.org/10.1294/jes.25.73 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Sport Science Division, Equine Research Institute, Japan Racing Association, Tochigi 320-0856, Japan.
- Sport Science Division, Equine Research Institute, Japan Racing Association, Tochigi 320-0856, Japan.
- Sport Science Division, Equine Research Institute, Japan Racing Association, Tochigi 320-0856, Japan.
- Sport Science Division, Equine Research Institute, Japan Racing Association, Tochigi 320-0856, Japan.
- Sport Science Division, Equine Research Institute, Japan Racing Association, Tochigi 320-0856, Japan.
- Sport Science Division, Equine Research Institute, Japan Racing Association, Tochigi 320-0856, Japan.
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Citations
This article has been cited 2 times.- Kang H, Zsoldos RR, Skinner JE, Gaughan JB, Mellor VA, Sole-Guitart A. The Use of Percutaneous Thermal Sensing Microchips to Measure Body Temperature in Horses during and after Exercise Using Three Different Cool-Down Methods.. Animals (Basel) 2022 May 14;12(10).
- 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.
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