GMF Module: Gait Muscles & Functions
This new module, called GMF (Gait Muscles & Functions), displays a form of multimedia "encyclopaedia" related to muscles and all the functions involved when walking.
The module, currently available only in English (although all muscle names have their scientific notation, which is derived from Latin), can be activated by pressing the related button on the main menu.
General Video
The first screen (or if you chose the “General Video” tab) will display a general video where an animated anatomical model shows muscle activation throughout the various gait phases. Press the Play button to start the video.
Muscle Activation
For each body "district" (the three body parts, namely, calf, pelvis and thigh), the muscles involved are listed. The activation timing of each of these is also specified, in relation to the total of the phase.
Example: let's take the Pre-Swing phase into consideration, which, according to medical-scientific literature, corresponds to 12% of the total of the Gait Cycle, intervening between 50 and 62% of the duration of the latter.
Within this 12%, the Soleus calf muscle is concerned immediately to begin with (Start=50%) and lasts for only 2% of the cycle. The Gannt chart below shows the different muscles when they intervene in relation to others:
Functions
By clicking the Functions tab, all the possible "motor functions" are listed (plantar flexion, dorsiflexion, rotation, eversion, etc.), which are associated with that phase for each body part.
By clicking a single row of the grid, the individual muscles are shown with the related activation times. There is also a short video showing only the body part in question and the chosen gait phase.
In the example below, the Pre-Swing phase and the body part Knee have been selected and, in the table, we can see that the muscles activated are only the Gracilis (for the whole phase from 50% to 62%) and the Sartorius (only at the end from 60% to 62%).
The colours next to the muscle names serve as key for the colours shown in the model in the video.
Phase Video
The third tab displays the video only of the part related to the chosen phase, where you can see the muscles activated with the exact timing (if they are "flesh-coloured" they are not activated, whereas, if coloured, they are activated).
Here, for example, we can see two still frames with deactivation of the left thigh muscles and activation of the right vastus medialis.
Download
Click here to download the update...