Effect of Novel Designed Bodygear on Gastrocnemius and Soleus Muscles during Stepping in Human Body

Muscle atrophy occurs in human musculature system due to inactivity of muscles in microgravity environment. Herein, a novel designed countermeasure gravitational load modulation bodygear is developed to enhance muscle activity. The bodygear is devised to compress the body through axial loading from shoulder to feet. The time and frequency domain parameters of electromyography (EMG) signals showed that the activity of gastrocnemius and soleus muscle was increased by 87% and 90% respectively in comparison to without bodygear during stepping. The enhanced muscle activity might be due to the increase in the recruitment of extra motor units, increase in contraction and more potential firing in muscles with bodygear. The results of analysis of variance confirmed that the root mean square, peak and mean frequency values were increased significantly (p < 0.05). Overall, the present bodygear is simple yet highly efficient to enhance muscle activity by providing enough loading during exercise. The bodygear demonstrates potential as a exercise countermeasure device by providing axial loading and can mimic the muscle activity of standing position in bed ridden patients. Further, it may serve as an rehabilitation device for speedy recovery of patients after further design refinement.