Article

Surface electromyography (EMG) is widely used to evaluate forearm muscle function
and predict hand grip forces; however, there is a lack of literature on its
intra-session and inter-day reliability. The aim of this study was to determine
reliability of surface EMG of finger and wrist flexor muscles across varying grip
forces. Surface EMG was measured from six forearm flexor muscles of 23 healthy
adults. Eleven of these subjects undertook inter-day test-retest. Six repetitions
of five randomized isometric grip forces between 0% and 80% of maximum force
(MVC) were recorded and normalized to MVC. Intra- and inter-day reliability were
calculated through the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and standard
error of measurement (SEM). Normalized EMG produced excellent intra-session ICC
of 0.90 when repeated measurements were averaged. Intra-session SEM was low at
low grip forces, however, corresponding normalized SEM was high (23-45%) due to
the small magnitude of EMG signals. This may limit the ability to evaluate finer
forearm muscle function and hand grip forces in daily tasks. Combining EMG of
functionally related muscles improved intra-session SEM, improving within-subject
reliability without taking multiple measurements. Removing and replacing
electrodes inter-day produced poor ICC (ICC < 0.50) but did not substantially
affect SEM.
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Langue : ANGLAIS