Muscle Activity in Upper Extremity Amputees

Purpose – Three interdependent studies designed as preliminary investigations of phantom and prosthetic limb control in upper extremity amputees. The purpose was to (1) compare muscle activation patterns of the phantom limb to anatomically expected patterns (2) compare muscle activation patterns of the phantom limb and those used to control a prosthesis (3) compare the use of upper arm muscle activity in phantom limb movements between users of different types of prosthetic devices. These studies aimed to expand the understanding of the role of the peripheral nervous system in movements of phantom and prosthetic limbs. Methods – Fifteen participants with varying levels of upper extremity amputations participated. Kinesiologic EMG (surface/fine wire) was utilized to examine residual limb muscle activation patterns during movements of the phantom and prosthesis. A series of phantom movements based on level of amputation were executed. After completing phantom limb movements participants donned their prosthesis and completed movements of the device. Muscles were considered active when the threshold of activity exceeded two standard deviations above rest trial. Visual analysis of EMG activity and goodness of fit Pearson Chi-Square tests were used to examine frequency occurrences in muscle activation patterns. Results –The majority of muscle activation patterns for the completion of phantom limb movements, regardless of the level of amputation, varied from anatomically expected muscle activation patterns. The majority of participants also used different muscle activation patterns to control similar movements of the phantom limb and prosthetic device. Finally, muscle activation patterns to control the movement of a phantom hand were different based on the type of device participants used, with body-powered prosthetic users activating muscles of the upper arm more frequently than myoelectric prosthetic users. Significance – This dissertation was a preliminary study into novel theories regarding phantom and prosthetic control. Results emphasize a dire need for future research to explore the injury response of the PNS, how this impacts phantom limb experiences, how these changes impact or is impacted by the CNS, and how to utilize the body’s natural response to injury to enhance control and function of prosthetic devices

Rehabilitation process using electromyography and biofeedback

Treballs Finals de Grau d'Enginyeria Biomèdica. Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut. Universitat de Barcelona. Curs: 2020-2021. Director: José Luis Parreño Catalan. Tutor: Manel Puig Vidal.A good rehabilitation routine is essential for the best possible recovery after an injury or to increase the quality of life of those who suffer from neuromusculoskeletal diseases. It is of particular relevance to maintain the motivation throughout all the process, for which videogames may play an essential role. Biofeedback is a process that provides real time information from psychophysiological recordings about the levels at which physiological systems are functioning. In this project the biofeedback system has been implemented by means of a low-cost EMG system created using Arduino. The EMG system has been developed using an Olimexino-328 microcontroller and an EMG-Shield, both from Olimex. The program was developed using Arduino IDE. To assess the quality of the signal of the prototype, it was compared to a professional EMG device, the DataLog from Biometrics Ltd. The comparison showed promising results although it could be improved by means of post-processing algorithms. An audio-visual Biofeedback system targeting maximum strength and explosiveness of the muscles was created using Python. Flappy Bird game commands were changed to control them with the EMG low-cost prototype. The flap logic of the game is guided by a threshold fixed automatically by the software at the 60% of the maximum signal obtained by the EMG system. The system was tested to optimize its performance and fix possible flaws. Although it is simple and further investigation may be needed, having in mind the fewer resources used, the system performance is encouraging, and a clinical trial should be performed to assess its real behaviour, usefulness, and efficiency for rehabilitation purposes

Electromyography - A Reliable Technique for Muscle Activity Assessment

In recent years, many questions have been raised on the credibility of Electromyography (EMG) as a technique to evaluate muscle activity, particularly by sports and fitness community. This questioning goes farther when it comes to surface electromyography (sEMG). This paper covers an overview of EMG, addresses some basic concepts and provide rudiment for research. Muscle activity assessment through EMG has been reviewed in terms of the type of movements. There are few limitations to EMG but these confines are addressable. The problem rather lies in the interpretation and generalization of that data. Limitations are there in every technology, precautionary measures must be taken to avoid those while using it. Reservations about EMG have been summarized along with their responses. A few techniques to analyze EMG data, and possibilities to extrapolate and interpret, are also provided. Current perspectives and practical applications of EMG and sEMG are also part of this article

The Neuromuscular Response to Spinal Manipulation: Quantifying the Effect of Pain with Electromyography

Objective To establish a methodology to quantify the neuromuscular response to spinal manipulation, develop a comprehensive date set including factors that affect the response, and compare the responses in both healthy participants and participants with acute and chronic low back pain. Methods Surface and indwelling electromyography at eight muscle locations were recorded during lumbar side-lying manipulations in 20 asymptomatic participants, 20 acute pain participants, and 20 chronic pain participants. Onset delay detection was optimized for signal detection failures and methodological comparisons were performed using a generalized linear model. The number of muscle responses and muscle activity onset delays in relation to the manipulation contact force were compared across participant subclasses using mixed linear regressions. Effect sizes for all comparisons were calculated using Cohen\u27s d. Results The method of muscle activity onset delay detection that best characterized the neuromuscular response to spinal manipulation was the double-threshold method with parameters of an 8 standard deviation amplitude threshold and a 10-msec duration threshold. In healthy participants, factors such as manipulation order and location had little effect on the neuromuscular response; however, the responding muscle location, layer and side revealed tendencies of lower response rates, and longer muscle activity onset delays as the distance from the manipulation location increased. Symptomatic participants had less muscle responses and longer muscle activity onset delays than the asymptomatic participants. Chronic pain participants had a greater tendency for shorter muscle activity onset delays than acute pain participants. Conclusions This study establishes a comprehensive database of both superficial lumbar and deep multifidus muscle activity and timing during spinal manipulation. The double-threshold method of muscle activity onset delay calculation is recommended over the cross-correlation method. Future studies in healthy participants focused on timing outcomes can be designed without regard for manipulation order and location within the parameters used in this study. Spinal manipulation may mediate pain through its influence on afferent activity of the muscle spindles and central nervous system. Participants in pain may experience more excitability in slower capsular reflex pathways than faster muscle spindle pathways compared to healthy participants, with the influence of the multifidi providing more pain-gating input to the central nervous system than superficial muscles. The neuromuscular response to spinal manipulation in participants in pain is dominated by the multifidus and is consistent with passive movements, as opposed to active movements that are dominated by superficial muscles

A Review of the Utilization of EMG Biofeedback

Electromyographic (EMG) biofeedback is gaining popularity as a treatment modality in physical therapy. It is used in the areas of neurological and orthopedic rehabilitation as well as injury prevention and performance improvement. The use of this modality can aid in the rehabilitation process by identifying weak muscles which need to be strengthened. Physical therapy also utilizes EMG biofeedback to identify and change movement patterns which may contribute to injury through the overuse or incorrect use of various muscles. EMG biofeedback is used to assist the patient in learning how to control muscular movement to correct the problems which are identified. Through the use of auditory or visual feedback, EMG biofeedback provides the patient and the therapist with immediate output on the level of activity in the targeted muscles or movement pattern. This is accomplished through the use of surface or needle electrodes appropriately placed on the desired area. Electrical impulses from the muscle are transmitted to the EMG unit which coverts the electrical signal into the visual or auditory feedback. The patient receives this feedback and is able to correctly learn voluntary control over specific muscles or movement patterns

Electromyographic Analysis in Elite Swimmers with Shoulder Pain during a Functional Task

The purpose of study was to determine and compare electromyographic activity of selected shoulder girdle muscles in elite swimmers with and without shoulder pain. Twelve professional swimmers with shoulder pain (mean age: 18.55±3.16 years, body mass: 74.33±2.91 kg, and height: 179.00±5.29cm) and twelve swimmers without pain (mean age: 18.11±1.61 years, body weight: 73.33±6.06 kg, height: 178.33±5.07cm) were recruited. Surface electromyography signals were collected from seven upper limb muscles during a task: participants were instructed to mark points with a pen within each of the 3 circles counterclockwise. The normalised root-mean-square value was used to determine the muscular activation. Swimmers with shoulder pain demonstrated greater activation of the upper trapezius (pain group mean: 28.04±10.37, control group mean: 13.40±06.04; p=0.002, partial eta square: 0.455), serratus anterior (pain group mean: 30.78±20.09, control group mean: 13.30±5.52; p=0.023, partial eta square: 0.283) and latissimus dorsi (pain group mean: 27.05±17.87, control group mean: 4.99±3.90; p=0.002, partial eta square: 0.450) muscles. There was no difference (p>0.05) in the activation of the middle and lower trapezius, middle deltoid and sternocleidomastoid. The altered muscle activation patterns may contribute to the painful shoulder in elite swimmers and need to be considered within the rehabilitation interventions

Human motion analysis and measurement techniques: current application and developing trend

Human motion analysis and measurement technology have been widely used in the fields of medical treatment, sports science, and rehabilitation. In clinical practice, motion analysis has been applied in the diagnosis and individualized treatment planning of various musculoskeletal diseases, and it is also an important objective scientific method to evaluate the therapeutic effect and the effectiveness of medical equipment. This study aimed to introduce the common modern motion capture measurement technology and equipment, the clinical application and limitations of motion analysis, and the possible development trend of motion analysis measuring techniques in the future. Motion analysis and measurement systems and medical image measurement and analysis technology have made landmark improvements over the past few decades in terms of orthopaedical biomechanics. Nevertheless, limitations still exist, both subjective and objective. All these drawbacks have promoted the exploration of the integrated methods that have now been widely used in motion analysis. The results of the case study about the subject-specific finite element modeling of the foot and sports shoe complex have also shown great consistency. Nevertheless, several possible future directions for motion analysis measuring techniques still exist. In the future, the progress of motion analysis and measurement methods will simultaneously drive the progress of orthopedics, rehabilitation, precision personalized medicine, and medical engineering

Electromyographic Analysis of the Pectoralis Major During Six Selected Antigravity Calisthenics

The problem of this study was the analysis of the pectoralis major during six antigravity exercises using electromyographc techniques. Thirty male subjects were used for the investigation from physical education classes at North Texas State University during the spring of 1976