Electromyographic responses of the human triceps surae and force tremor during sustained sub‐maximal isometric plantar flexion

Abstract

The objective was to investigate electromyographic activity (EMG) and isometric force tremor (IFT) changes during a sustained sub-maximal isometric contraction in two muscles acting upon the same joint but differing in muscle fibre composition. Surface and intra-muscular EMG activity from the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles and IFT were recorded during an exhausting isometric plantar flexion (30% of maximal voluntary contraction). Surface EMG amplitude (RMS) of both gastrocnemius and soleus muscles increased significantly over time. Gastrocnemius EMG RMS increased in a non-linear fashion while soleus EMG RMS increased linearly. A significant linear decrease of surface EMG mean power frequency (MPF) was observed over time for both muscles. The decrease in gastrocnemius MPF was significantly greater than that for soleus. Intra-muscular EMG results showed similar trends. Correlations of intramuscular EMG RMS and MPF with time were, however, characterized by lower correlation coefficients than those from the surface EMG. Isometric force tremor RMS significantly increased non-linearly with duration of contraction, while IFT MPF showed a significant linear decrease with time. Changes in surface EMG RMS were correlated to changes seen in IFT RMS, in particular, for the predominantly fast twitch gastrocnemius muscle. Correlation coefficients of surface EMG MPF and IFT MPF were lower than RMS correlations. The associated changes in IFT and EMG with fatigue indicate alterations in motor unit firing rate, recruitment and synchronization. The muscle specificity of the EMG and IFT changes suggests a coupling to muscle fibre type composition, although differences in the relative force contribution of each muscle could also affect the results.