ALTERATIONS IN MUSCLE SYNERGIES IN PATIENTS WITH KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS DURING LEVEL- AND DOWNHILL WALKING

In this study, the effects of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) on muscle synergy composition during locomotion tasks were investigated. Utilizing non-negative matrix factorization on surface electromyography data from 37 participants, analyses of muscle synergies in both level walking and ramp descent in KOA patients and age-matched controls were conducted. It could be shown that KOA affects muscle synergies in the affected limb during level walking, where a merge of synergies during late swing and early stance phases is observed. A similar effect was observed in ramp descent for the affected and unaffected limb. In this study, the impact of KOA on muscular coordination across locomotion tasks is depicted, and it is suggested that muscle synergy analysis can serve as a useful biomarker, e.g. in the assessment of therapeutical interventions.