title: Electromyographic analysis of rectus femoris activity during seated to standing position and walking in water and on dry land in healthy children and children with cerebral palsy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyze rectus femoris activity during seated to standing position and walking in water and on dry land comparing a group of children with the spastic diparesis type of cerebral palsy (CP) and a group of children without neurological disorders.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study included a group of nine children with CP and a control group of 11 children. The study compared the electromyographic activity of the rectus femoris during seated to standing position and walking, in water and on land.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A greater activation of the rectus femoris was observed in the group of children with CP compared with the control group when moving from a seated position to a standing position in water (p=0.0039) and while walking on land (p=0.0014) or in the pool (p=0.007).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrated the activation of the rectus femoris while walking or standing up from a seated position in water was greater in the group of children with CP. Further studies should be performed to better understand the extent of muscular activation during body immersion in individuals with neurological disorders.
authors.affiliation: Associação de Assistência à Criança Deficiente (AACD), São Paulo, Brazil. Electronic address: layscardoso@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: L C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Assistência Médica ao Servidor Público Estadual (IAMSPE), São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: T O
authors.initials: TO
authors.lastname: Trócoli
authors.affiliation: Associação de Assistência à Criança Deficiente (AACD), São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Kanashiro
authors.affiliation: Associação de Assistência à Criança Deficiente (AACD), São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Braga
authors.affiliation: Universidade Cidade de São Paulo (UNICID), São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: F N
authors.initials: FN
authors.lastname: Cyrillo
mesh_terms: D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004576:Electromyography / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007101:Immersion; D008297:Male; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology*; D052097:Quadriceps Muscle / Q000502:physiology*; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology*; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D014867:Water
keywords: Aquatic physical therapy; Cerebral palsy; Electromyography