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Neural and morphological adaptations combine to underpin the enhanced muscle strength following prolonged exposure to strength training, although their relative importance remains unclear. We investigated the contribution of motor unit (MU) behavior and muscle size to submaximal force production in chronically strength-trained athletes (ST) versus untrained controls (UT). Sixteen ST (age: 22.9 ± 3.5 yr; training experience: 5.9 ± 3.5 yr) and 14 UT (age: 20.4 ± 2.3 yr) performed maximal voluntary isometric force (MViF) and ramp contractions (at 15%, 35%, 50%, and 70% MViF) with elbow flexors, whilst high-density surface electromyography (HDsEMG) was recorded from the biceps brachii (BB). Recruitment thresholds (RTs) and discharge rates (DRs) of MUs identified from the submaximal contractions were assessed. The neural drive-to-muscle gain was estimated from the relation between changes in force (ΔFORCE, i.e. muscle output) relative to changes in MU DR (ΔDR, i.e. neural input). BB maximum anatomical cross-sectional area (ACSA

With the aging of the population, preserving muscle function is important to prevent loss of mobility and autonomy. Nowadays, the prevention of the muscle disease, sarcopenia, is a major concern and important risk factors such as older age as well as modifiable factors including low physical activity and unhealthy diet have been identified. Considering the growth of older populations and the decreased physical activity, which also includes young citizens, muscle quality awareness can be crucial in promoting a healthy aging process in our societies. Muscle functional assessments needs were expressed by researchers and clinicians, The European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) recommends defining sarcopenia as the presence of both low muscle mass and low muscle function (strength, and physical performance). For this purpose, we have developed a method for muscle aging evaluation, using an ambulatory and non-invasive technology, called high-density surface electromyography (HDsEMG), through a clinical research project on five age categories (25 to 74 yrs.). We performed a comparative study with a complete and multimodal analysis of the rectus femoris, muscle involved in daily life motions, in order to reveal the promising potential of the HD-sEMG technique, compared to conventional clinical techniques, to detect early changes in the quality of muscle function impacted by aging and physical activity level. The clinical part of this thesis project was funded by a European grant, EITH Health. By analyzing both muscle contraction dynamics and intensity of the rectus femoris, our results showed that the HD-sEMG technique, was able to discriminate between the five age categories of healthy physically active subjects. More interestingly, the proposed HD-sEMG scores discriminated between active and sedentary participants, from the same age category(45-54 yrs.), in contrary to clinical parameters and others usual techniques (dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, DXA and ultrasonography). In addition, these scores for sedentary participants from this age category were significantly closer to those of active participants from higher age categories (55-64 yrs. and 65-74 yrs.). This strongly suggests that sedentary lifestyle seems to accelerate the muscle aging process at both anatomical and functional level, and this subtle accelerated process can be detected by the HD-sEMG technique. These promising preliminary results can contribute to the development of an interesting tool for clinicians to improve both accuracy and sensitivity of functional muscle evaluation useful for prevention and rehabilitation to avoid the effects of unhealthy lifestyle that can potentially lead to sarcopenia. This can support also the actual public health concern alerted by Word Health Organization (WHO) regarding aging and sarcopenia, to promote healthy aging., Avec le vieillissement de la population, préserver la fonction musculaire est important pour éviter la perte de mobilité et d'autonomie. De nos jours, la prévention de la maladie musculaire, la sarcopénie, est une préoccupation majeure et des facteurs de risque importants tels que l'âge avancé ainsi que des facteurs modifiables, notamment une faible activité physique et une alimentation déséquilibrée ont été identifiés. Compte tenu de la croissance des populations plus âgées et de la diminution de l'activité physique, qui touche également les jeunes citoyens, la sensibilisation à la qualité musculaire peut être cruciale pour promouvoir un vieillissement en bonne santé dans nos sociétés. Les besoins en évaluations fonctionnelles musculaires ont été exprimés par les chercheurs et les cliniciens. Le groupe de travail européen sur la sarcopénie chez les personnes âgées (EWGSOP) recommande de définir la sarcopénie comme la présence à la fois d'une faible masse musculaire et d'une faible fonction musculaire (force et performance physique). Pour cela, nous avons développé une méthode d’évaluation du vieillissement musculaire, en utilisant une technologie ambulatoire et non invasive, appelée technologie d'électromyographie de surface haute densité (HD-sEMG), à travers un projet de recherche clinique sur cinq catégories d'âge (25 à 74 ans), actifs et sédentaires. Nous avons réalisé une étude comparative avec une analyse complète et multimodale du rectus femoris (RF), muscle impliqué dans les mouvements de la vie quotidienne, pour dévoiler le potentiel prometteur de la technique HD sEMG, par rapport aux techniques cliniques classiques, l’objectif étant de détecter les changements précoces de la qualité de la fonction musculaire impactée par le vieillissement et le niveau d'activité physique. La partie clinique de ce projet de thèse a été financée par une subvention européenne, EIT Health. En analysant principalement la dynamique de contraction musculaire et l'intensité du rectus femoris, nos résultats ont montré que la technique HD-sEMG, était capable de discriminer entre les cinq catégories d'âge de sujets sains physiquement actifs. Plus intéressant encore, les scores HD-sEMG proposés discriminaient entre les participants actifs et sédentaires, de la même catégorie d'âge (45-54 ans), contrairement aux paramètres cliniques et aux autres techniques couramment utilisées (absortiométrie biphotonique par rayons X, DXA et échographie). De plus, ces scores pour les participants sédentaires de cette catégorie d'âge étaient significativement plus proches de ceux des participants actifs des catégories d'âge supérieures (55-64 ans et 65-74 ans). Cela suggère fortement qu'un mode de vie sédentaire semble accélérer le processus de vieillissement musculaire au niveau anatomique et fonctionnel, et ce processus accéléré subtil peut être détecté par la technique HD-sEMG. Ces résultats préliminaires prometteurs pourraient contribuer au développement d’un outil intéressant aux cliniciens pour améliorer à la fois la précision et la sensibilité de l'évaluation musculaire utile pour les programmes de prévention et de réadaptation afin d'éviter ou de retarder la sarcopénie, problème de santé publique actuel alerté par l'Organisation Mondiale de la Santé (OMS) et promouvoir un vieillissement en bonne santé.

Introduction: At a professional level, pianists have a high prevalence of playing-related musculoskeletal disorders. This exploratory crossover study was carried out to assess and compare quantitatively [using high density surface electromyography (HDsEMG)], and qualitatively (using musculoskeletal questionnaires) the activity of the lumbar erector spinae muscles (ESM) and the comfort/discomfort in 16 pianists sitting on a standard piano stool (SS) and on an alternative chair (A-chair) with lumbar support and a trunk-thigh angle between 105° and 135°.Materials and Methods: The subjects played for 55 min and HDsEMG was recorded for 20 s every 5 min. For the quantitative assessment of the muscle activity, the spatial mean of the root mean square (RMSROA) and the centroid of the region of activity (ROA) of the ESM were compared between the two chairs. For the qualitative assessment, musculoskeletal questionnaire-based scales were used: General Comfort Rating (GCR); Helander and Zhang’s comfort (HZc) and discomfort (HZd); and Body Part Discomfort (BPD).Results: When using the A-chair, 14 out of 16 pianists (87.5%) showed a significantly lower RMSROA on the left and right side (p < 0.05). The mixed effects model revealed that both chairs (F = 28.21, p < 0.001) and sides (F = 204.01, p < 0.001) contributed to the mean RMSROA variation by subject (Z = 2.64, p = 0.004). GCR comfort indicated that participants found the A-Chair to be “quite comfortable,” and the SS to be “uncomfortable.” GCR discomfort indicated that the SS caused more numbness than the A-Chair (p = 0.05) and indicated the A-Chair to cause more feeling of cramps (p = 0.034). No difference was found on HZc (p = 0.091) or HZd (p = 0.31) between chairs. Female participants (n = 9) reported greater comfort when using the A-Chair than the SS (F = 7.09, p = 0.01) with respect to males. No differences between chairs were indicated by the BPD assessment.Conclusion: It is concluded that using a chair with lumbar support, such as the A-chair, will provide greater comfort, less exertion of the ESM and less discomfort than the standard piano stool.

Acute changes in central control and peripheral properties of motor units following a half-marathon has never been examined in master athletes. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to estimate the firing properties and twitch characteristics of motor units after a 21-km race in a group of ten trained older adults. High-density surface EMG decomposition was used to identify motor unit activity during a submaximal contraction of the tibialis anterior muscle before and after the half marathon. The area of the estimated motor unit twitch profile was found smaller after the race (P = 0.039). This reduction in contractile efficiency was compensated by a significant increase in the initial and average discharge rate of the identified motor units (P 0.001). By estimating the amount of shared and independent synaptic input to tibialis anterior motor neurons, we demonstrated that adaptations in the discharge properties of master athletes' motor units are the likely consequence of an increased net excitatory synaptic drive to the motor neuron pool. These findings suggest a potential role of long-distance running in ameliorating declines in muscle function of older adults by enhancing the neural drive to muscle.

Mechanical vibration applied directly to the muscle belly or tendon has been reported to elicit a specific reflex loop named tonic vibration reflex (TVR), which involves motor unit (MU) activation synchronized and un-synchronized within the vibration cycle. Indirect application of vibration to the muscle by vibration exercise (VE) has also been suggested to evoke TVR, as evidenced by the spectral peaks observed at the vibration frequency in the surface electromyography (sEMG). However, other studies interpreted these spectral peaks as the result of motion artifacts (MAs). The aim of the present study is, therefore, to investigate MU activation patterns during VE in order to clarify the nature of those spectral peaks. To this end, low-intensity isometric contractions were executed with and without VE, and high-density sEMG measurements were performed during the contraction tasks. MU action potential (MUAP) trains were extracted by decomposing the recorded high-density sEMG signals. The spectra of the MUAP trains were then calculated and compared between vibration and no-vibration conditions. Clear MU synchronization was observed during VE, confirming the spectral peaks at the vibration frequency to be mainly due to the reflex loop rather than MAs.

Objective: The aim of this study is to compare the performance of three strategies in determining the global innervation zone (IZ) distribution. Methods: High-density surface electromyography was recorded from the biceps brachii muscle of seven healthy subjects under isometric voluntary contractions at 20%, 50%, and 100% of the maximal voluntary contraction and supramaximal musculocutaneous nerve stimulations. IZs were detected: first, by visual identification in a column-specific manner ( IZ-1D ); second, based on decomposed bipolar mapping of motor unit action potentials ( IZ-2D ); and third, by source imaging in the three-dimensional muscle space ( IZ-3D ). Results: All three IZ detection approaches have exhibited excellent trial-to-trial repeatability. Consistent IZ results were found in the axial direction of the arm across all three approaches, yet a difference was observed in the mediolateral direction. Conclusions: Among all three approaches, IZ-3D is capable of providing the most comprehensive information regarding the global IZ distribution, while maintaining high consistency with IZ-1D and IZ-2D results. Significance: IZ-3D approach can be a potential tool for global IZ imaging, which is critical to the clinical diagnosis and treatment of neuromuscular disorders.

This study has developed a technique for identifying the presence of muscle fatigue based on the spatial changes of the normalised mutual information (NMI) between multiple high density surface electromyography (HD-sEMG) channels. Muscle fatigue in the tibialis anterior (TA) during isometric contractions at 40% and 80% maximum voluntary contraction levels was investigated in ten healthy participants (Age range: 21 to 35 years; Mean age = 26 years; Male = 4, Female = 6). HD-sEMG was used to record 64 channels of sEMG using a 16 by 4 electrode array placed over the TA. The NMI of each electrode with every other electrode was calculated to form an NMI distribution for each electrode. The total NMI for each electrode (the summation of the electrode’s NMI distribution) highlighted regions of high dependence in the electrode array and was observed to increase as the muscle fatigued. To summarise this increase, a function, M(k), was defined and was found to be significantly affected by fatigue and not by contraction force. The technique discussed in this study has overcome issues regarding electrode placement and was used to investigate how the dependences between sEMG signals within the same muscle change spatially during fatigue.

Objective. The study of motor unit behavior has been classically performed by selective recording systems of muscle electrical activity (EMG signals) and decomposition algorithms able to discriminate between individual motor unit action potentials from multi-unit signals. In this study, we provide a general framework for the decomposition of multi-channel intramuscular and surface EMG signals and we extensively validate this approach with experimental recordings. Approach. First, we describe the conditions under which the assumptions of the convolutive blind separation model are satisfied. Second, we propose an approach of convolutive sphering of the observations followed by an iterative extraction of the sources. This approach is then validated using intramuscular signals recorded by novel multi-channel thin-film electrodes on the Abductor Digiti Minimi of the hand and Tibilias Anterior muscles, as well as on high-density surface EMG signals recorded by electrode grids on the First Dorsal Interosseous muscle. The validation was based on the comparison with the gold standard of manual decomposition (for intramuscular recordings) and on the two-source method (for comparison of intramuscular and surface EMG recordings) for the three human muscles and contraction forces of up to 90% MVC. Main results. The average number of common sources identified for the validation was 14 ± 7 (averaged across all trials and subjects and all comparisons), with a rate of agreement in their discharge timings of 92.8 ± 3.2%. The average Decomposability Index, calculated on the automatic decomposed signals, was 16.0 ± 2.2 (7.3–44.1). For comparison, the same index calculated on the manual decomposed signals was 15.0 ± 3.0 (6.3–76.6). Significance. These results show that the method provides a solid framework for the decomposition of multi-channel invasive and non-invasive EMG signals that allows the study of the behavior of a large number of concurrently active motor units.

The extensor digitorum communis muscle plays an important role in hand dexterity during object manipulations. This multi-tendinous muscle is believed to be controlled through separate motoneuron pools, thereby forming different compartments that control individual digits. However, due to the complex anatomical variations across individuals and the flexibility of neural control strategies, the spatial activation patterns of the extensor digitorum communis compartments during individual finger extension have not been fully tracked under different task conditions.The objective of this study was to quantify the global spatial activation patterns of the extensor digitorum communis using high-density (7×9) surface electromyogram (EMG) recordings. The muscle activation map (based on the root mean square of the EMG) was constructed when subjects performed individual four finger extensions at the metacarpophalangeal joint, at different effort levels and under different finger constraints (static and dynamic). Our results revealed distinct activation patterns during individual finger extensions, especially between index and middle finger extensions, although the activation between ring and little finger extensions showed strong covariance. The activation map was relatively consistent at different muscle contraction levels and for different finger constraint conditions. We also found that distinct activation patterns were more discernible in the proximal-distal direction than in the radial-ulnar direction. The global spatial activation map utilizing surface grid EMG of the extensor digitorum communis muscle provides information for localizing individual compartments of the extensor muscle during finger extensions. This is of potential value for identifying more selective control input for assistive devices. Such information can also provide a basis for understanding hand impairment in individuals with neural disorders.

Entre las secuelas de lesiones del Sistema Nervioso Central se encuentra la espasticidad, la cual es de dificil manejo terapeutico. Los tratamientos actuales de la espasticidad consideran la administracion de la toxina botulinica. Sin embargo, los resultados de su aplicacion han sido muy variables en terminos de eficacia, atribuible a las distintas distancias entre el lugar de inyeccion y la zona de inervacion (ZI). La EMG de alta densidad se ha utilizado para recolectar informacion acerca de la fisiologia muscular y para localizar la ZI. El objetivo de este estudio fue describir la ubicacion de la ZI del musculo biceps braquial en sujetos jovenes sanos, durante una contraccion isometrica. Evaluamos el musculo biceps braquial en 20 sujetos sanos usando una matriz de 64 electrodos. El promedio de localizacion de la ZI fue de 34% en el sentido distal de la linea trazada entre la fosa cubital y el acromion anterior.

Workers often develop low back pain due to manually lifting heavy loads. Instrumental-based assessment tools are used to quantitatively assess the biomechanical risk in lifting activities. This study aims to verify the hypothesis that high-density surface electromyography (HDsEMG) allows an optimized discrimination of risk levels associated with different fatiguing lifting conditions compared to traditional bipolar sEMG. 15 participants performed three lifting tasks with a progressively increasing lifting index (LI) each lasting 15 min. Erector spinae (ES) activity was recorded using both bipolar and HDsEMG systems. The amplitude of both bipolar and HDsEMG can significantly discriminate each pair of LI. HDsEMG data could discriminate across the different LIs starting from the fourth minute of the task while bipolar sEMG could only do so towards the end. The higher discriminative power of HDsEMG data across the lifting tasks makes such methodology a valuable tool to be used to monitor fatigue while lifting and could extend the possibilities offered by currently available instrumental-based tools.