Design of an Isometric End-Point Force Control Task for Electromyography Normalization and Muscle Synergy Extraction From the Upper Limb Without Maximum Voluntary Contraction

Abstract

Muscle synergy analysis via surface electromyography (EMG) is useful to study muscle coordination in motor learning, clinical diagnosis, and neurorehabilitation. However, current methods to extract muscle synergies in the upper limb suffer from two major issues. First, the necessary normalization of EMG signals is performed via maximum voluntary contraction (MVC), which requires maximal isometric force production in each muscle. However, some individuals with motor impairments have difficulties producing maximal effort in the MVC task. In addition, the MVC is known to be highly unreliable, with widely different forces produced in repeated measures. Second, synergy extraction in the upper limb is typically performed with a multidirection reaching task. However, some participants with motor impairments cannot perform this task because it requires precise motor control. In this study, we proposed a new isometric rotating task that does not require precise motor control or large forces. In this task, participants maintain a cursor controlled by the arm end-point force on a target that rotates at a constant angular velocity at a designated force level. To relax constraints on motor control precision, the target is widened and blurred. To obtain a reference EMG value for normalization without requiring maximal effort, we estimated a linear relationship between joint torques and muscle activations. We assessed the reliability of joint torque normalization and synergy extraction in the rotating task in young neurotypical individuals. Compared with normalization with MVC, joint torque normalization allowed reliable EMG normalization at low force levels. In addition, the extraction of synergies was as reliable and more stable than with the multidirection reaching task. The proposed rotating task can, therefore, be used in future motor learning, clinical diagnosis, and neurorehabilitation studies.

“Fine synergies” describe motor adaptation in people with drop foot in a way that supplements traditional “coarse synergies”

“…In addition, PCA relies on signal normalization, which for EMG is performed via maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) of each muscle. However, this process is unreliable and true maximal force is difficult to attain in individuals with motor deficits (22). Here, we normalized EMG signals based on the maximal activity of each muscle during the gait cycle.…”

Muscle synergies for multidirectional isometric force generation during maintenance of upright standing posture

“…Previous studies have demonstrated that tasks involving the generation isometric multidirectional force can be used for extracting synergies (Borzelli et al 2013 ; Berger et al 2013 ; Gentner et al 2013 ; Barradas et al 2020 ; Borish et al 2021 ; Cho et al 2022 ). Therefore, the aim of the study was to investigate muscle synergies while maintaining and controlling the CoP fluctuations during upright standing posture in which participants were instructed to generate isometric forces to counteract small loads pulling in multiple directions.…”