Applications in movement and gait analysis

Motion analysis is based on measuring trajectories, rotations of joints, torque values, temporal events, and muscle activities. Force plates embedded in the floors of motion analysis laboratories measure force transfer between foot and ground during gait. Kinematics, kinetics, and surface electromyography (sEMG) are used to identify the causes of motion impairment and the resulting compensatory movements, thus enhancing clinical assessment and supporting decisions such as choice of surgery, orthoses, and rehabilitation protocols. Surface EMG can provide information on the origin of motion produced by muscle activation. EMG during task execution enables muscle activities to be assessed rather than inferred from a combination of observation of movements and clinical evaluation performed under static conditions. To ensure data reliability in applications of motion analysis, raw sEMG data on a fixed y-axis scale must be checked before five criteria: filtering, envelope computation, data normalization, clinical report creation, and statistical analysis for research purposes.