TY - JOUR
T1 - Reliability of quadriceps surface electromyography measurements is improved by two vs. single site recordings
AU - Balshaw, T. G.
AU - Fry, A.
AU - Maden-Wilkinson, T. M.
AU - Kong, P. W.
AU - Folland, J. P.
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding The study was financially supported by the Arthritis Research UK Centre for Sport, Exercise, and Osteoarthritis (Grant reference 20194).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017, The Author(s).
PY - 2017/6/1
Y1 - 2017/6/1
N2 - Purpose: The reliability of surface electromyography (sEMG) is typically modest even with rigorous methods, and therefore further improvements in sEMG reliability are desirable. This study compared the between-session reliability (both within participant absolute reliability and between-participant relative reliability) of sEMG amplitude from single vs. average of two distinct recording sites, for individual muscle (IM) and whole quadriceps (WQ) measures during voluntary and evoked contractions. Methods: Healthy males (n = 20) performed unilateral isometric knee extension contractions: voluntary maximum and submaximum (60%), as well as evoked twitch contractions on two separate days. sEMG was recorded from two distinct sites on each superficial quadriceps muscle. Results: Averaging two recording sites vs. using single site measures improved reliability for IM and WQ measurements during voluntary (16–26% reduction in within-participant coefficient of variation, CVW) and evoked contractions (40–56% reduction in CVW). Conclusions: For sEMG measurements from large muscles, averaging the recording of two distinct sites is recommended as it improves within-participant reliability. This improved sensitivity has application to clinical and research measurement of sEMG amplitude.
AB - Purpose: The reliability of surface electromyography (sEMG) is typically modest even with rigorous methods, and therefore further improvements in sEMG reliability are desirable. This study compared the between-session reliability (both within participant absolute reliability and between-participant relative reliability) of sEMG amplitude from single vs. average of two distinct recording sites, for individual muscle (IM) and whole quadriceps (WQ) measures during voluntary and evoked contractions. Methods: Healthy males (n = 20) performed unilateral isometric knee extension contractions: voluntary maximum and submaximum (60%), as well as evoked twitch contractions on two separate days. sEMG was recorded from two distinct sites on each superficial quadriceps muscle. Results: Averaging two recording sites vs. using single site measures improved reliability for IM and WQ measurements during voluntary (16–26% reduction in within-participant coefficient of variation, CVW) and evoked contractions (40–56% reduction in CVW). Conclusions: For sEMG measurements from large muscles, averaging the recording of two distinct sites is recommended as it improves within-participant reliability. This improved sensitivity has application to clinical and research measurement of sEMG amplitude.
KW - Coefficient of variation
KW - Evoked muscle response
KW - Intraclass correlation coefficient
KW - Knee extension
KW - Peripheral nerve stimulation
KW - Voluntary muscle contraction
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85027877136&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s00421-017-3595-z
DO - 10.1007/s00421-017-3595-z
M3 - Article
C2 - 28391392
AN - SCOPUS:85027877136
SN - 1439-6319
VL - 117
SP - 1085
EP - 1094
JO - European Journal of Applied Physiology
JF - European Journal of Applied Physiology
IS - 6
ER -