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An Electromyographic And Motion Analysis Of Forward And Backward Walking, Sarah Dekrey, Lori Guderian, Kerry Hendricksen, Glenda Scott

Physical Therapy Scholarly Projects

Backward walking is a common intervention in the rehabilitation of lower extremity injuries. Despite its popularity, there is limited research available on the EMG activity during backward walking at an incline when compared to forward walking. In this study, we recorded EMG activity in four muscles of the lower extremity and utilized motion analysis to evaluate the knee range of motion when walking forward and backward on a treadmill at 0 and 15 percent grade inclines.

Overall, our results indicated a greater increase in muscle activity during backward walking than forward walking. Walking backward at a 15 percent grade incline …