AN EFFECT OF ANKLE FOOT ORTHOSIS ON THE MUSCLE ACTIVITY OF DROP FOOT PATIENT: A CASE STUDY

This paper presents a case study for a drop foot patient, analyzing the muscle activation via electromyography (EMG)while using different types of ankle foot orthosis (AFO) and compare it with muscle activity of bare foot movement during stair climbing and gait. EMG activity in stair climbing and gait was recorded without and with wearing three types of AFO materials (Polypropylene (PP), carbon fiber composite material (CF), Polylactic Acid(PLA)) under different backpack load (0 Kg, 5 kg, 10 kg, 25 kg). EMG signals recorded from the two lower limb muscles (gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior) showed that amplitude of EMG increased with increasing load during stair climbing and gait. The Normalized EMG-RMS (NER) of both the muscle group was greater instair climbing compared to gait. NER of gastrocnemius was greater than tibialis anterior for both the task under the same load condition. While using PLA-AFO on drop foot lower limb, the NER of both the muscle was comparable to the NER value of normal limb in both the task. The study of muscle activation under different backpack load during stair climbing can be used to design orthoses device and interface with intelligent control based on EMG for human activities lower muscle.