Biomechanical analysis following a single session of individualised whole-body vibration in young adults with autism spectrum disorders-ASD

Purpose: In the present study were investigated the acute effects of individualised whole-body vibration (WBV) on locomotion and balance synchronised with surface electromyographic activity (sEMG) in young adults with ASD. Method: Six young adults with ASD (sex:males; age:22.7±3.4 years; stature:175.7±3.7 cm; body mass:78.0±10.1 kg; body mass index:25.3±4.1 kg/m2) and five healthy adults (sex:males; age:26.4±1.1 years; stature:175.8±8.2 cm; body mass:68.9±10.0 kg; body mass index:22.8±2.1 kg/m2) took part in the present investigation. Gait analysis was executed using a 3D motion capture system, when the participants walked on a motorised treadmill at 3-km/h. Angle-angle diagrams were determined by plotting the angles at adjacent joints against each other (hip-knee angle/knee-ankle angle). The body sway (medio-lateral/forward-backward) was measured on the force platform during different bipodalic standing positions (bipodalic static/bipodalic dynamic); open eyes/closed eyes. sEMG activity synchronised with gait and body sway was also recorded on the muscles (VL, BF, TA and LG) of the dominant leg. Results: Baseline measurements showed that hip/knee and knee/ankle areas were wider in healthy than the ASD participants (P=0.043; P=0.021). No significant differences were found in the other variables (balance and sEMG activity) between the two groups (P>0.05). Individualised WBV tended to increase the knee-angle perimeter (P=0.064) modifying the muscle activation of VL (P=0.034), BF (P=0.016), TA (P=0.003) and LG (P=0.077). WBV did not affect the body sway in the different conditions except for TA muscle activation (P=0.031) synchronised with the body sway recorded during bipodalic-static position and closed eyes. Conclusions: The results of this investigation show that the angle-angle diagram is a sensitive parameter to underline gait alteration in young adults with ASD. Also, the individualised whole-body vibration stimulus modifies acutely the leg muscles activation during walking gait. References Di Giminiani R, Di Lorenzo D, La Greca S, Russo L, Masedu F, Totaro R, Padua E. (2022). Angle‐Angle Diagrams in the Assessment of Locomotion in Persons with Multiple Sclerosis: A Preliminary Study. Appl. Sci 12, 7223 Di Giminiani R, Masedu F, Tihanyi J, Scrimaglio R, and Valenti M. (2013). The interaction between body position and vibration frequency on acute response to whole body vibration. J Electromyogr Kinesiol 23(1):245-51