This study examines the role of the direction of a fall on neuromuscular response. Electromyography sensors were positioned on the erector spinae of twenty subjects. Falls, simulating slips, occurred in the anterior, posterior, and medial-lateral directions. The average activation curves for the four different fall directions displayed different characteristics. Observations were supported by principal component analysis (PCA). PCA coefficients related all fall directions to a single reflex-like response. Analysis of variance on the coefficients demonstrated that anterior falls had a significantly (p0.05) stronger reflex-like response than posterior falls. There was also a significant (p0.05) difference for the interaction between side of the erector spinae and fall direction for the medial-lateral fall directions. Here the contra-lateral muscle had a stronger reflex-like response than the ipsi-lateral muscle. Possible reasons for the observations could be to increase time available for active responses or decrease the energy transferred if the head impacted the ground.

Данное издание не является оригинальным. Книга печатается по технологии принт-он-деманд после получения заказа.