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Changes in the electromechanical delay components during a fatiguing stimulation in human skeletal muscle: an EMG, MMG and force combined approach

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Abstract

Purpose

Peripheral fatigue involves electrochemical and mechanical mechanisms. An electromyographic, mechanomyographic and force combined approach may permit a kinetic evaluation of the changes at the synaptic, skeletal muscle fiber, and muscle–tendon unit level during a fatiguing stimulation.

Methods

Surface electromyogram, mechanomyogram, force and stimulation current were detected from the gastrocnemius medialis muscle in twenty male participants during a fatiguing stimulation (twelve blocks of 35 Hz stimulations, duty cycle 9 s on/1 s off, duration 120 s). The total electromechanical delay and its three components (between stimulation current and electromyogram, synaptic component; between electromyogram and mechanomyogram signal onset, muscle fiber electrochemical component, and between mechanomyogram and force signal onset, mechanical component) were calculated. Interday reliability and sensitivity were determined.

Results

After fatigue, peak force decreased by 48% (P < 0.05) and the total electromechanical delay and its synaptic, electrochemical and mechanical components lengthened from 25.8 ± 0.9, 1.47 ± 0.04, 11.2 ± 0.6, and 13.1 ± 1.3 ms to 29.0 ± 1.6, 1.56 ± 0.05, 12.4 ± 0.9, and 17.2 ± 0.6 ms, respectively (P < 0.05). During fatigue, the total electromechanical delay and the mechanical component increased significantly after the 40th second, and then remained stable. The synaptic and electrochemical components lengthened significantly after the 20th and 30th second, respectively. Interday reliability was high to very high, with an adequate level of sensitivity.

Conclusions

The kinetic evaluation of the delays during the fatiguing stimulation highlighted different onsets and kinetics, with the events at synaptic level being the first to reveal a significant elongation, followed by those at the intra-fiber level. The mechanical events, which were the most affected by fatigue, were the last to lengthen.

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Abbreviations

D:

Day

DelayTOT :

Total electromechanical delay

Δt :

Time delay

EMG:

Surface electromyography

F:

Force

GM:

Gastrocnemius medialis muscle

MF:

Mean frequency

MMG:

Mechanomyography

MTU:

Muscle–tendon unit

RMS:

Root mean square

SEC:

Series elastic components

Stim:

Stimulation current

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank all the participants involved in the study, for their patience and committed involvement.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health (SCIBIS), Università degli Studi di Milano, Via G. Colombo 71, 20133, Milan, Italy

    Emiliano Cè, Susanna Rampichini, Elena Monti, Massimo Venturelli, Eloisa Limonta & Fabio Esposito

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  1. Emiliano Cè
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  2. Susanna Rampichini
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  3. Elena Monti
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  4. Massimo Venturelli
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  5. Eloisa Limonta
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  6. Fabio Esposito
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Correspondence to Emiliano Cè.

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Communicated by Nicolas Place.

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Cè, E., Rampichini, S., Monti, E. et al. Changes in the electromechanical delay components during a fatiguing stimulation in human skeletal muscle: an EMG, MMG and force combined approach. Eur J Appl Physiol 117, 95–107 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-016-3502-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-016-3502-z

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