St George Lindsay B, Clayton Hilary M, Sinclair Jonathan K, Richards Jim, Roy Serge H, Hobbs Sarah Jane
Research Centre for Applied Sport, Physical Activity and Performance, University of Central Lancashire, Preston PR1 2HE, UK.
Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
Animals (Basel). 2023 May 25;13(11):1755. doi: 10.3390/ani13111755.
This study compared muscle activity and movement between the leading (Ld) and trailing (Tr) fore- (F) and hindlimbs (H) of horses cantering overground. Three-dimensional kinematic and surface electromyography (sEMG) data were collected from right triceps brachii, biceps femoris, middle gluteal, and splenius from 10 ridden horses during straight left- and right-lead canter. Statistical parametric mapping evaluated between-limb (LdF vs. TrF, LdH vs. TrH) differences in time- and amplitude-normalized sEMG and joint angle-time waveforms over the stride. Linear mixed models evaluated between-limb differences in discrete sEMG activation timings, average rectified values (ARV), and spatio-temporal kinematics. Significantly greater gluteal ARV and activity duration facilitated greater limb retraction, hip extension, and stifle flexion ( < 0.05) in the TrH during stance. Earlier splenius activation during the LdF movement cycle ( < 0.05), reflected bilateral activation during TrF/LdH diagonal stance, contributing to body pitching mechanisms in canter. Limb muscles were generally quiescent during swing, where significantly greater LdF/H protraction was observed through greater elbow and hip flexion ( < 0.05), respectively. Alterations in muscle activation facilitate different timing and movement cycles of the leading and trailing limbs, which justifies equal training on both canter leads to develop symmetry in muscular strength, enhance athletic performance, and mitigate overuse injury risks.
本研究比较了马匹在地面慢跑时领先（Ld）和跟随（Tr）的前肢（F）与后肢（H）之间的肌肉活动和运动情况。在10匹骑乘马进行直线左向和右向领先慢跑时，收集了右侧肱三头肌、股二头肌、臀中肌和夹肌的三维运动学和表面肌电图（sEMG）数据。统计参数映射评估了在整个步幅中，时间和幅度归一化的sEMG以及关节角度 - 时间波形在肢体间（LdF与TrF，LdH与TrH）的差异。线性混合模型评估了离散sEMG激活时间、平均整流值（ARV）和时空运动学在肢体间的差异。在站立期间，TrH的臀中肌ARV和活动持续时间显著更大，有助于更大程度的肢体后缩、髋关节伸展和膝关节屈曲（<0.05）。在LdF运动周期中，夹肌激活更早（<0.05），反映了TrF/LdH对角站立期间的双侧激活，有助于慢跑时的身体俯仰机制。在摆动期间，肢体肌肉通常静止，在此期间，分别通过更大程度的肘部和髋关节屈曲观察到LdF/H显著更大的前伸（<0.05）。肌肉激活的改变促进了领先和跟随肢体不同的时间和运动周期，这证明对两种慢跑领先方式进行同等训练对于发展肌肉力量对称性、提高运动表现和降低过度使用损伤风险是合理的。
