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Surface EMG electrodes do not accurately record from lumbar multifidus muscles
Ian A F Stokes1, Sharon M Henry, Richard M Single
1Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405-0084, USA. ian.stokes@uvm.edu
Clinical Biomechanics (Bristol, Avon)
|January 16, 2003
Summary
Surface electromyography (sEMG) is not sensitive enough for deep multifidus muscle activity. Accurate measurement of multifidus muscle activation requires intra-muscular electrodes for precise quantification.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Kinesiology
- Musculoskeletal Research
Background:
- Surface electrodes are suggested for recording deep multifidus muscle activity.
- Electromyography (EMG) is crucial for quantifying muscle activation levels.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if surface electromyography (sEMG) can quantify multifidus muscle activity.
- To compare sEMG signals with intra-muscular EMG signals for multifidus muscles.
Main Methods:
- Compared sEMG signals with intra-muscular EMG signals from multifidus muscles in three subjects.
- Subjects performed isometric trunk loading tasks in three directions.
- Analyzed correlation and regression between signals from surface and intra-muscular electrodes.
Main Results:
- sEMG signals over multifidus were more sensitive to adjacent longissimus muscles than to multifidus.
- R-squared for surface vs. intra-muscular EMG was 0.64.
- Average R-squared for surface-multifidus vs. surface-longissimus was 0.80, indicating higher sensitivity to longissimus.
Conclusions:
- Accurate quantification of multifidus muscle activity necessitates intra-muscular electrodes.
- Surface electrode placement over multifidus muscles lacks specificity for measuring their activation.