Normalizing gastrocnemius muscle EMG signal: an optimal set of maximum voluntary isometric contraction tests for young adults considering reproducibility
[en] Background
Even though most studies normalize the surface EMG signal of the gastrocnemius muscle using a single position of maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC), several studies tend to indicate that several positions are in fact needed to obtain a maximal voluntary activation (MVA) for most of the subjects. However, no combination of positions has already been described.
Research question
A combination of MVIC positions to normalize the EMG signal of the gastrocnemius muscle is investigated. the influence of using several positions on the reproducibility of the normalization process is evaluated.
Methods
Twenty healthy volunteers (45% female – 55 % male, 25.4 years (SD 4.3), 72.6 kg (SD 13.9), 1.78 m (SD 0.12)) were recruited. Six positions for MVIC were compared and the effect of several normalization combinations on a functional task (gait) was evaluated.
Results
Several positions are needed to obtain at least 90% of the MVA for 90% of the volunteers even though the use of a single well-chosen position (unipodal standing position with knee fully extended and ankle fully plantar-flexed) will lead to no statistically significant differences of the gait evaluation during stance phase. For each position, five repetitions of the MVIC are recommended to obtain a valid MVA.
Significance
This study confirms that using several MVIC positions is recommended when possible to normalize the gastrocnemius muscle EMG signal. However, in the situation of a patient where limited MVIC attempts are possible, using a single well-chosen position should not significantly influence the amplitude and the reproducibility of the measures.
Research center :
Laboratoire d'Analyse du Mouvement Humain (LAMH)
Disciplines :
Orthopedics, rehabilitation & sports medicine
Author, co-author :
Schwartz, Cédric ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences de la motricité > Kinésithérapie générale et réadaptation
WANG, François-Charles ; Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liège - CHU > Autres Services Médicaux > Service de médecine de l'appareil locomoteur
Forthomme, Bénédicte ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences de la motricité > Rééducation du membre supérieur
Denoël, Vincent ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département ArGEnCo > Analyse sous actions aléatoires en génie civil
Croisier, Jean-Louis ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'aérospatiale et mécanique > Laboratoire des Systèmes Multicorps et Mécatroniques
Language :
English
Title :
Normalizing gastrocnemius muscle EMG signal: an optimal set of maximum voluntary isometric contraction tests for young adults considering reproducibility
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