Purpose: Given that walking speed declines with ageing and decreasing walking speed restricts activities of daily living (ADL), it is important for the old to maintain walking speed in order to prevent affecting ADL. Although skin cold stimulation (SCS) facilitates instantaneous muscle activity, which occurs during walking, the effects of SCS on muscle activity during walking remain unclear. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of SCS during walking in older adults.Methods: Seventeen community-dwelling healthy older adults (73 ± 6 years old) participated in this study. Walking speed at a comfortable pace and the electromyographic (EMG) activity of the vastus lateralis (VL) and biceps femoris (BF) were measured. SCS, which maintains the skin temperature at 25 °C, was applied to the front of the thigh during the procedures. Walking speed, root mean square EMG (rmsEMG) and mean power frequency (MPF) were compared under SCS and control conditions.Results: SCS significantly increased the walking speed (p < 0.01) and the rmsEMG of the vastus lateralis (p = 0.032). No change in the rmsEMG of the BF was observed, and SCS had no effect on MPF of both the VL and BF. Furthermore, a significant relationship was observed between these changes (r = 0.619, p = 0.042).Conclusion: SCS increased the EMG activity of the VL while increasing walking speed. Our results suggest that SCS is an effective strategy that can be included in daily life in order to improve walking ability of older adults.

中文翻译：

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老年人行走过程中，皮肤冷刺激对股四头肌肌肉活动的影响。

目的：鉴于步行速度会随着年龄的增长而下降，并且步行速度的下降会限制日常生活（ADL）的活动，因此对于老年人而言，保持步行速度以防止影响ADL非常重要。尽管皮肤冷刺激（SCS）促进了步行过程中发生的瞬时肌肉活动，但SCS对步行过程中肌肉活动的影响仍不清楚。因此，本研究旨在探讨SCS在老年人行走过程中的作用。方法：十七名居住在社区的健康老年人（73±6岁）参加了这项研究。测量了舒适步伐的步行速度以及股外侧肌（VL）和股二头肌（BF）的肌电图（EMG）活动。在手术过程中，将保持皮肤温度在25°C的SCS应用于大腿前部。比较了在SCS和控制条件下的步行速度，均方根EMG（rmsEMG）和平均功率频率（MPF）结果：SCS显着提高了步行速度（p <0.01）和股外侧肌的rmsEMG（p = 0.032） 。没有观察到高炉的rmsEMG发生变化，并且SCS对VL和BF的MPF均没有影响。此外，观察到这些变化之间的显着关系（r = 0.619，p = 0.042）。结论：SCS增加了VL的EMG活性，同时增加了步行速度。我们的结果表明，SCS是一种有效的策略，可以包含在日常生活中，以提高老年人的步行能力。01）和股外侧肌的rmsEMG（p = 0.032）。没有观察到高炉的rmsEMG发生变化，并且SCS对VL和BF的MPF均没有影响。此外，观察到这些变化之间的显着关系（r = 0.619，p = 0.042）。结论：SCS增加了VL的EMG活性，同时增加了步行速度。我们的结果表明，SCS是一种有效的策略，可以包含在日常生活中，以提高老年人的步行能力。01）和股外侧肌的rmsEMG（p = 0.032）。没有观察到高炉的rmsEMG发生变化，并且SCS对VL和BF的MPF均没有影响。此外，观察到这些变化之间的显着关系（r = 0.619，p = 0.042）。结论：SCS增加了VL的EMG活性，同时增加了步行速度。我们的结果表明，SCS是一种有效的策略，可以包含在日常生活中，以提高老年人的步行能力。