Kim Min Joo, Kim TaeYeong, Oh Sejun, Yoon BumChul
1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, 34983 Kyung Hee University , Yongin, Korea.
2 Health Science Institute, 34973 Korea University , Seoul, Korea.
Percept Mot Skills. 2018 Feb;125(1):93-108. doi: 10.1177/0031512517736463. Epub 2017 Oct 26.
Horseback riding is an effective exercise for improving postural control and balance. To reduce costs and improve accessibility, simulated horseback riding has been developed; but no differential effects of simulated and real horseback riding on muscle activation patterns in older adults have been studied. Thus, we compared muscle activation patterns for older and younger adults engaged in real and simulated horseback riding exercises, using surface electromyography recordings of the erector spinae, rectus abdominis, internal oblique abdominis, and rectus femoris muscles. We recorded muscle activity for three riding patterns: walk, slow trot, and fast trot. Muscle activation was uniformly higher for simulated (vs. real) horseback riding and increased from the walking pattern through slow and fast trot. There was no age effect, but among older participants, muscle activation was higher for simulated (vs. real) horseback riding across all gait types. Simulated and real riding produced a similar pattern of muscle activation of the thigh and trunk. These results demonstrate that simulated horseback riding can be an effective alternative to actual riding for increasing trunk and thigh muscle activation and improving postural control and balance, perhaps especially among older adults.
骑马是一种改善姿势控制和平衡的有效运动。为了降低成本并提高可及性，人们开发了模拟骑马；但尚未研究模拟骑马和真实骑马对老年人肌肉激活模式的差异影响。因此，我们使用竖脊肌、腹直肌、腹内斜肌和股直肌的表面肌电图记录，比较了参与真实和模拟骑马运动的老年人和年轻人的肌肉激活模式。我们记录了三种骑行模式下的肌肉活动：步行、慢步和快步。模拟骑马（与真实骑马相比）的肌肉激活始终更高，并且从步行模式到慢步和快步逐渐增加。没有年龄效应，但在老年参与者中，在所有步态类型中，模拟骑马（与真实骑马相比）的肌肉激活更高。模拟骑马和真实骑马产生了相似的大腿和躯干肌肉激活模式。这些结果表明，模拟骑马可能是增加躯干和大腿肌肉激活以及改善姿势控制和平衡的有效替代实际骑马的方式，尤其是在老年人中。
