EMG Activity Of Trunk Muscles Research Articles

Effect of stooped posture during baseball pitching on EMG activity of trunk muscles

Effect of stooped posture during baseball pitching on EMG activity of trunk muscles

EMG Analysis of Trunk Muscle Recruitment Patterns of Anticipatory Postural Adjustments during Unilateral Arm Flexion in Chronic Neck Pain Patients

Introduction: EMG recruitment pattern of trunk muscles can change to compensate pain. One of these pattern alterations occurs in anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs) or feedforward activity of trunk muscles prior to arm movements. No study has determined the EMG pattern alterations of trunk muscle recruitments during the arm movement in patients with chronic neck pain (CNP). This study was examined the effect of CNP on EMG activities of trunk muscles for APAs during rapid arm flexion. Material and Methods: Sixteen patients with CNP for at least 3 months and sixteen healthy individuals matched in gender, age and weight were selected in this semi-experimental study. Surface EMG was utilized to evaluate 8 trunk muscles bilaterally and right anterior fibers of deltoid muscle during a unilateral rapid arm flexion. Anticipatory muscle activity was calculated by EMG onset latency of the trunk muscle from 100 ms before deltoid activity to 100 ms after it. Also, the values of root mean square (RMS) in 4 epochs around the onset of deltoid EMG were measured and compared. A two-tailed t-test and repeated-measure ANOVA were used for statistical analyses.Results: The onset latency of muscles in left and right side, except left erector spine muscle, in patients showed a significantly higher delay compared to healthy controls (P<0.05). The analysis of RMS in the 4 epochs revealed that in the control group, the values of RMS for rectus abdominus and erector spine in both sides, left external oblique and left transverse abdominus/internal oblique increased significantly during Epochs 3 and 4 , but in CNP subjects, the RMS of these muscles did not change significantly in 4 epochs.Conclusion: The patients with CNP had alterations in their recruitment patterns of particular trunk muscles in response to arm movement.Therefore, these patients have impaired motor control of trunk muscles during internal perturbation. These results indicated that not only the alterations in recruitment of trunk muscles occur, but also the intensity of their contractions decreases. In conclusion, CNP may alter in order to control the reactive forces resulting from limb movement.

Trunk muscle fatigue and its implications in EMG-assisted biomechanical modeling

Muscle fatigue affects the underlying EMG-force relationship on which EMG-assisted biomechanical models rely. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of short duration muscle fatigue on the muscle gain value. Participants performed controlled, isometric trunk extension exertions at 10, 20, and 30 degrees of trunk flexion and controlled isokinetic trunk extension exertions at 5 and 15°/sec on five separate days. Fatigue of the lumbar extensors was generated by moderate-intensity, trunk extension exertions. Participants performed controlled test contractions at defined intervals throughout the fatiguing bout and the EMG activities of trunk muscles were collected. These EMG data were employed in a standard EMG-assisted model and fatigue-dependent trends in the gain factor were evaluated. The results of this study show a significant effect of fatigue on the gain factor. Further analysis revealed that by reducing the magnitude of the gain factor in proportion to the drop in median frequency of the EMG signal of the fatigued muscle, a more accurate estimate of muscle force can be calculated. Mean normalized error between predicted internal moments and the measured external moments improved from 17.5 to 9.6% error via the implementation of this modified gain factor. Relevance to industryBiomechanical models are used to quantify low back stress during occupational lifting tasks. Understanding how these models need to be modified under conditions of muscular fatigue will provide more accurate estimates of stress and can help reduce the incidence of low back injury.

Model and in vivo studies on human trunk load partitioning and stability in isometric forward flexions

To resolve the trunk redundancy to determine muscle forces, spinal loads, and stability margin in isometric forward flexion tasks, combined in vivo-numerical model studies was undertaken. It was hypothesized that the passive resistance of both the ligamentous spine and the trunk musculature plays a crucial role in equilibrium and stability of the system. Fifteen healthy males performed free isometric trunk flexions of ∼40° and ∼65°± loads in hands while kinematics by skin markers and EMG activity of trunk muscles by surface electrodes were measured. A novel kinematics-based approach along with a nonlinear finite element model were iteratively used to calculate muscle forces and internal loads under prescribed measured postures and loads considered in vivo. Stability margin was investigated using nonlinear, linear buckling, and perturbation analyses under various postures, loads and alterations in ligamentous stiffness. Flexion postures significantly increased activity in extensor muscles when compared with standing postures while no significant change was detected in between flexed postures. Compression at the L5–S1 substantially increased from 570 and 771 N in upright posture, respectively, for ±180 N, to 1912 and 3308 N at ∼40° flexion, and furthermore to 2332 and 3850 N at ∼65° flexion. Passive ligamentous/muscle components resisted up to 77% of the net moment. In flexion postures, the spinal stability substantially improved due both to greater passive stiffness and extensor muscle activities so that, under 180 N, no muscle stiffness was required to maintain stability. The co-activity of abdominal muscles and the muscle stiffness were of lesser concern to maintain stability in forward flexion tasks as compared with upright tasks. An injury to the passive system, on one hand, required a substantial compensatory increase in active muscle forces which further increased passive loads and, hence, the risk of injury and fatigue. On the other hand, it deteriorated the system stability which in turn could require greater additional muscle activation. This chain of events would place the entire trunk active–passive system at higher risks of injury, fatigue and instability.