Non-invasive Techniques for Muscle Fatigue Monitoring: A Comprehensive Survey

Abstract

Muscle fatigue represents a complex physiological and psychological phenomenon that impairs physical performance and increases the risks of injury. It is important to continuously monitor fatigue levels for early detection and management of fatigue. The detection and classification of muscle fatigue also provide important information in human-computer interactions (HMI), sports injuries and performance, ergonomics, and prosthetic control. With this purpose in mind, this review first provides an overview of the mechanisms of muscle fatigue and its biomarkers, and further enumerates various non-invasive techniques commonly used for muscle fatigue monitoring and detection in the literature, including electromyogram (EMG), which records the muscle electrical activity during muscle contractions, mechanomyogram (MMG), which records vibration signals of muscle fibers, near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), which measures the amount of oxygen in the muscle, ultrasound (US), which records signals of muscle deformation during muscle contractions. This review also introduces the principle and mechanism, parameters used for fatigue detection, application in fatigue detection, and advantages and disadvantages of each technology in detail. To conclude, the limitations/challenges that need to be addressed for future research in this area are presented.