Comparative Analysis of Hip Muscle Activation and Gait Kinematics During Motorized and Self-Propelled Treadmill Walking

Hip muscles play a vital role in maintaining balance and proper gait, and treadmill walking is one of the most popular ways to train hip muscles by cyclic movement of the lower limb. However, the effectiveness of treadmill walking for hip muscle training remains unclear, due to insufficient data on hip muscle activity during treadmill walking. This study provides a comparative analysis of hip muscle activity and gait kinematics during motorized and self-propelled treadmill walking. Using a wireless electromyography (EMG) device and motion capture system, we evaluated hip muscle activity and gait kinematics. Our results indicate that the selfpropelled treadmill walking demands greater hip muscle activation than the motorized counterpart, as evidenced by elevated EMG activity, which is likely required to maintain gait stability and generate forward propulsion without external assistance. Furthermore, participants demonstrated increased step length during self-propelled treadmill walking, suggesting an adaptation to the absence of the external assistance, though gait symmetry remained unaffected. Most importantly, selfpropelled treadmill walking necessitated greater hip flexion, emphasizing its potential for enhancing hip muscle engagement in treadmill exercise. These findings underscore the importance of incorporating self-propelled treadmill walking into the exercise routine for hip muscle training, particularly for the gluteal muscle development.