Muscle Activity and Inactivity Periods during Normal Daily Life

Abstract

Recent findings suggest that not only the lack of physical activity, but also prolonged times of sedentary behaviour where major locomotor muscles are inactive, significantly increase the risk of chronic diseases. The purpose of this study was to provide details of quadriceps and hamstring muscle inactivity and activity during normal daily life of ordinary people. Eighty-four volunteers (44 females, 40 males, 44.1±17.3 years, 172.3±6.1 cm, 70.1±10.2 kg) were measured during normal daily life using shorts measuring muscle electromyographic (EMG) activity (recording time 11.3±2.0 hours). EMG was normalized to isometric MVC (EMGMVC) during knee flexion and extension, and inactivity threshold of each muscle group was defined as 90% of EMG activity during standing (2.5±1.7% of EMGMVC). During normal daily life the average EMG amplitude was 4.0±2.6% and average activity burst amplitude was 5.8±3.4% of EMGMVC (mean duration of 1.4±1.4 s) which is below the EMG level required for walking (5 km/h corresponding to EMG level of about 10% of EMGMVC). Using the proposed individual inactivity threshold, thigh muscles were inactive 67.5±11.9% of the total recording time and the longest inactivity periods lasted for 13.9±7.3 min (2.5–38.3 min). Women had more activity bursts and spent more time at intensities above 40% EMGMVC than men (p<0.05). In conclusion, during normal daily life the locomotor muscles are inactive about 7.5 hours, and only a small fraction of muscle's maximal voluntary activation capacity is used averaging only 4% of the maximal recruitment of the thigh muscles. Some daily non-exercise activities such as stair climbing produce much higher muscle activity levels than brisk walking, and replacing sitting by standing can considerably increase cumulative daily muscle activity.

Evaluation of the motor function of patients with renal failure undergoing hemodialysis: a cross-sectional study

“…Another finding was the positive correlation of the strength of the hip extensors with D1 and strength of the upper limbs with D2 and D3 under the justification of muscle strength being directly related to daily life activities and their completeness in order to be able to perform the different types of required tasks. (19) Despite the justifications for muscular function, some investigators report that frequent lesions that occur in the sensory and motor nerves in patients undergoing dialysis treatment may also have an influence on motor function (20) . In addition, advanced age and degree of renal impairment are factors that may also compromise neural functionality (21) .…”

The Acute Effects of Breaking Up Seated Office Work With Standing or Light-Intensity Walking on Interstitial Glucose Concentration: A Randomized Crossover Trial

“…Furthermore, at approximately 7pm on the evening before each trial condition, participants consumed a instructed to avoid climbing up any stairs as this may have increased thigh muscle activity, and hence energy expenditure, more than intended. 6 The researcher was responsible for timekeeping and told participants when to start and stop walking.…”

“…Tikkanen et al (2013) 6 used electromyography (EMG) to show that thigh muscle activity was more than doubled during standing compared with during sitting. Furthermore, self-reported total daily standing time has been shown to be inversely associated with the risk of all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in a large, nationally representative sample of Canadian adults, even after adjusting for other risk factors, including age, sex, smoking status and moderate-tovigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA).…”

Muscle activity patterns and spinal shrinkage in office workers using a sit–stand workstation versus a sit workstation

“…These EMG shorts have been tested previously for validity, repeatability and feasibility, and a detailed description of the recording devices has been reported (Finni et al 2007). Adequate repeatability and consistency of EMG signals, both day-to-day and within-day, have been tested in our laboratory and reported in previous studies (Tikkanen et al, 2013;Pesola et al, 2014).…”