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On the nature of the electromyographic signals recorded during vibration exercise

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Abstract

Purpose

Surface electromyography (EMG) has been widely used to measure neuromuscular activity during vibration exercise (VE) to investigate the underlying mechanisms elicited by VE. However, the EMG spectrum recorded during VE shows sharp peaks at the vibration frequency whose interpretation remains controversial. Some authors considered those peaks as a result of motion artifacts, while others interpreted them as due to vibration-induced neuromuscular activity. The aim of the present study is to clarify the nature of those sharp peaks observed during VE.

Methods

Three independent EMG measurements were performed during VE: in vitro (IVT), in vivo at rest (\({\hbox {IVV}_\mathrm{R}}\)), and in vivo during voluntary contraction (\({\hbox {IVV}_\mathrm{C}}\)). The amplitudes of the EMG vibration frequency components (\({\hbox {A}_\mathrm{VF}}\)) were extracted for all measurements. The conduction velocity (CV) of the vibration frequency components and the full EMG spectrum were also estimated during voluntary contraction.

Results

Our spectrum analysis revealed small \({\hbox {A}_\mathrm{VF}}\) for IVT and \({\hbox {IVV}_\mathrm{R}}\), accounting for only 3.3 and 7.6 % of that obtained from \({\hbox {IVV}_\mathrm{C}}\). Moreover, the CV estimation indicated the EMG vibration components to propagate along the muscle fiber with CV \(\approx\) 6.5 m/s, comparable to the CV estimated using the full EMG spectrum (5.7 m/s).

Conclusion

We may therefore conclude that the sharp spectral peaks observed during VE are mainly due to vibration-induced muscle activity rather than motion artifacts.

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Abbreviations

A\(_\mathrm{{VF}}\) :

Amplitude of the vibration frequency components

CV:

Conduction velocity

CV\(_\mathrm{{ACC}}\) :

CV of the acceleration signals

CV\(_\mathrm{{EMG}}\) :

CV of the full EMG spectrum

CV\(_\mathrm{{VF}}\) :

CV of the vibration frequency components

EMG:

Electromyography

IVT:

In vitro

IVV\(_\mathrm{{C}}\) :

In vivo during voluntary contraction

IVV\(_\mathrm{{R}}\) :

In vivo at rest

MF:

Mean frequency

MVC:

Maximum voluntary contraction

TVR:

Tonic vibration reflex

VE:

Vibration exercise

WBV:

Whole body vibration

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported with a valorization grant from the Dutch Technology Foundation STW and a scholarship from the China Scholarship Council. The experiments performed in the present study comply with the current laws of the Netherlands.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Den Dolech 2, 5612 AZ, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

    Lin Xu, Chiara Rabotti & Massimo Mischi

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  1. Lin Xu
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  2. Chiara Rabotti
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  3. Massimo Mischi
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Correspondence to Lin Xu.

Additional information

Communicated by Dick F. Stegeman.

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Xu, L., Rabotti, C. & Mischi, M. On the nature of the electromyographic signals recorded during vibration exercise. Eur J Appl Physiol 115, 1095–1106 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-014-3091-7

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