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The Effects of Fatigue and Task Repetition on the Surface Electromyographic Signal
Author(s) -
Mulder Theo,
Hulstijn Wouter
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
psychophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.661
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1469-8986
pISSN - 0048-5772
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8986.1984.tb00237.x
Subject(s) - isometric exercise , electromyography , physical medicine and rehabilitation , ankle , psychology , tibialis anterior muscle , task (project management) , muscle fatigue , repetition (rhetorical device) , medicine , physical therapy , anatomy , skeletal muscle , linguistics , philosophy , management , economics
The effects of fatigue and repetition of the task on the surface electromyographic signal were examined during 4 sessions using an isometric motor control task. The muscle chosen for this study was one of the main ankle dorsiflexors (m. tibialis anterior). The electromyographic output and a functional (force) output of this muscle were recorded during two conditions: a SHORT‐F condition in which the effect of task repetition on the relationship between force and IEMG was studied, and a LONG‐F condition in which the effect of fatigue was studied. The results indicated that repetition of the task resulted in a significant increase in the ratio between the electromyographic and functional output of the m. tibialis anterior, indicating an increase in efficiency across the 4 sessions. Fatigue on the other hand resulted in a significant decrease in the ratio between the electromyographic and functional output of the m. tibialis anterior, indicating a decrease in efficiency. Fatigue also resulted in a significant and rapid increase in the electromyographic activity. The implications of these results for the therapeutic use of the electromyographic signal were discussed.