Determination of muscle activation in upper limb during gait among stroke patients with homolateral limb synkinesis: a cross-sectional analytical pilot study
- 1Department of Physiotherapy, Kasturba Medical College Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education
- 2Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, National Institute of Technology Karnataka
- 3Department of Neurology, Kasturba Medical College Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education
Abstract
Post-stroke neural damage can impair sequential muscle activation, which may lead to associated reactions (ARs) during effortful tasks. During gait this may manifest as homolateral limb synkinesis (HLS), where voluntary movement of paretic limb evokes involuntary movement in the corresponding ipsilateral limb. Upper limb muscle activation underlying HLS during ambulation remains poorly understood, hence this study aimed to investigate muscle activation using surface electromyography (sEMG) in post-stroke HLS patients. This study included 22 participants, 11 in each group. sEMG recordings were obtained from four agonist–antagonist muscle pairs of affected upper limb in stroke participants and dominant limb in controls during a 10-m gait trial at self-selected pace. sEMG signals were normalised to a reference contraction. Group comparisons were performed using Mann–Whitney U test, followed by false discovery rate (FDR) correction for multiple comparisons. Initial analyses demonstrated significantly greater normalised activation in pectoralis major, middle deltoid, biceps brachii, extensor carpi radialis brevis, and flexor carpi ulnaris among HLS participants, which after FDR persisted only in biceps brachii, extensor carpi radialis brevis, and flexor carpi ulnaris. HLS during gait involves abnormal activation of predominantly the elbow and wrist musculature, with non-rhythmic aberrant muscle activity in proximal and distal muscles compared to controls.
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BibTeX
@article{nayak2026determination,
title = {{Determination of muscle activation in upper limb during gait among stroke patients with homolateral limb synkinesis: a cross-sectional analytical pilot study}},
author = {Manisha Nayak and Abraham M. Joshua and Shyam Krishnan and Ashish John Prabhakar and Krishnan Chemmangat and Zulkifli Misri and D. Shivananda Pai},
journal = {Scientific Reports},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1038/s41598-026-61292-1},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-61292-1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Determination of muscle activation in upper limb during gait among stroke patients with homolateral limb synkinesis: a cross-sectional analytical pilot study
AU - Manisha Nayak
AU - Abraham M. Joshua
AU - Shyam Krishnan
AU - Ashish John Prabhakar
AU - Krishnan Chemmangat
AU - Zulkifli Misri
AU - D. Shivananda Pai
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/01
JO - Scientific Reports
DO - 10.1038/s41598-026-61292-1
UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-61292-1
AB - Post-stroke neural damage can impair sequential muscle activation, which may lead to associated reactions (ARs) during effortful tasks. During gait this may manifest as homolateral limb synkinesis (HLS), where voluntary movement of paretic limb evokes involuntary movement in the corresponding ipsilateral limb. Upper limb muscle activation underlying HLS during ambulation remains poorly understood, hence this study aimed to investigate muscle activation using surface electromyography (sEMG) in post-stroke HLS patients. This study included 22 participants, 11 in each group. sEMG recordings were obtained from four agonist–antagonist muscle pairs of affected upper limb in stroke participants and dominant limb in controls during a 10-m gait trial at self-selected pace. sEMG signals were normalised to a reference contraction. Group comparisons were performed using Mann–Whitney U test, followed by false discovery rate (FDR) correction for multiple comparisons. Initial analyses demonstrated significantly greater normalised activation in pectoralis major, middle deltoid, biceps brachii, extensor carpi radialis brevis, and flexor carpi ulnaris among HLS participants, which after FDR persisted only in biceps brachii, extensor carpi radialis brevis, and flexor carpi ulnaris. HLS during gait involves abnormal activation of predominantly the elbow and wrist musculature, with non-rhythmic aberrant muscle activity in proximal and distal muscles compared to controls.
SN - 2045-2322
ER -