Quantitative electromyography: response of the neck muscles to conventional helmet loading

Experiments were conducted to quantify the fatigue of neck muscles which occurs during loading of these muscles by: the head itself (CON), the conventional SPH-4 helmet (HEL), and a combination of the SPH-4 helmet with Night Vision Goggles (H/NVG). Two exercise periods of 5 min and 35 min duration, respectively, were performed by the 5 subjects, during which a subject would rotate the head laterally (from side-to-side) in the CON, HEL, or H/NVG configuration. Immediately thereafter, the subject would position his head in an isometric head dynamometer and exert a sustained right lateral (LAT) neck contraction, or forward (FOR) neck contraction at 70% of his maximum strength, during which his endurance time to fatigue was recorded, and the EMG over the right sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle, and over the posterior trapezius/splenius muscles was continuously recorded. The root-mean-squared (RMS) amplitude of the electromyogram (EMG) continuously increased during the fatiguing contraction, being 78% greater (on the average) by the time of fatigue, and the center frequency of the EMG power spectrum continuously decreased, being 27% less (on the average) at the fatigue end-point. Some variability with head loading configuration and contraction mode was observed. These results are significant since they demonstrate that the EMG of neck muscles can be used as a noninvasive, objective and quantitative index of the neck muscle fatigue.