The Effect of the Level of Physical Activity on Electromyography of Core Stability Muscles, Ground Reaction Force, and Changes in Center of Mass to Pressure during Gait

Introduction: Given that the difference in the neuromuscular functions and the movement patterns in athlete and non-athlete individuals are challenging, this study aimed to investigate a light on the effect of the level of physical activity on the Electromyography of core stability muscles and ground reaction force (GRF) and changes in the center of mass (COM) to center of pressure (COP) during gait. Material and Methods: Eighteen young men participated in this quasi-experimental study and were divided into groups including athletes and non-athletes. Mean and standard deviation used to describe data; Shapiro Wilk Test was used to verify the normality of the data and the T-test was used to compare the results of the two groups at p ≤0.05. Results: The patterns of muscles functions were found to be similar in the two groups. However, there was a difference in the root mean square (RMS) of the two groups and this difference was significant in the Multifidus muscle. The amount of GRF was found to be higher at the time of heel contact (Fz1) and midstance, (Fz2) in non-athlete subjects compared to athlete subjects. More changes in COM-COP were found in non-athlete subjects than athlete subjects. Moreover, a significant difference was indicated between the two groups in terms of the time to peak force, with athlete subjects experiencing higher loading rate for vertical force. Conclusion: Due to findings, the effect of physical activities on gait patterns could lead to changes in the interaction and coordination between core stability, GRF, and changes in COM-COP during walking.