Article

Despite the many reviews and research papers on the limitations of surface
electromyography (EMG), there are relatively few that address this issue by
considering dynamic contractions and specifically from the point of view of
muscle coordination. Nevertheless, whether muscle coordination can be precisely
studied using surface EMG signals is still a matter of discussion in the
scientific community. In other words, it is uncertain whether neural control
strategies of movement can be inferred from EMG. This review article discusses
the appropriateness of using EMG recordings for studying muscle coordination.
First, the main uses of surface EMG for studying muscle coordination are
depicted. Then, the main intrinsic drawbacks of the EMG technique (i.e.,
amplitude cancellation, crosstalk and spatial variability of muscle activity) and
of EMG processing (i.e., smoothing of the linear envelope, normalization of the
time scale and the amplitude and timing of muscle activation) are described and
discussed. Finally, three other factors (i.e., variability, electromechanical
delay and neuromuscular fatigue), which can affect the interpretation of EMG and
have received little attention in the literature, are presented and discussed.
All of this information is crucial to the proper interpretation of muscle
coordination from EMG signals.
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Langue : ANGLAIS