Repeatability study of mechanomyography in submaximal isometric contractions using coefficient of variation and...

The within-day and between-day repeatability of the mechanomyogram (MMG) was assessed using the coefficient of variation (CV) and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and was compared with that of the electromyogram (EMG). The MMG and EMG were recorded simultaneously during isometric elbow flexion trials at different submaximal levels of 10% to 90% MVC. The testing session consisting of 9 submaximal trials was repeated 8 times on the same day for estimation of the within-day variation. In order to examine the between-day variation, the same testing session was also performed 8 times over 3 weeks with a 2-day rest interval between each session. The CVs within-day and between-day in both the MMG and EMG did not demonstrate any significant differences relating to the magnitude of force exerted. The CVs combined over all the force levels were approximately 10% within the same day and 25% between days for both the MMG and EMG. These corresponded to the within-day ICC of approximately 0.95 and the between-day ICC of 0.80. The repeatability of the MMG during submaximal isometric contractions of biceps brachii muscles is considered to be similar to that of the more established EMG.