• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.56-62
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• 1998

The nature of entrainment between the locomotor and the respiratory rhythm was investigated while normal human subjects were walked or running on a treadmill. The purpose of this study was to analyze the incidence and type of coordination between the locomotor and the respiratory rhythm during running at different work load. The experiments were carried out on 12 untrained volunteers exercising at 3 work loads (2 METs, 3 METs, 4 METs in randomized order). The gait cycle was measured by electromyography (EMG) signal of gastrocnemius firing and the respiratory cycle was measured by a thermometer. We found that the ratio between the locomotor and the respiratory rhythm existed and 2:1 ratio between the locomotor-respiratory coupling was dominant at 2 METs and 3 METs.