Summary
In 5 healthy male subjects the changes in muscle fibre conduction velocity, mean power frequency, mean EMG voltage, and force in the quadriceps were measured during submaximal fatiguing contractions, ranging from 60 to 100% of maximum force. Surface EMG was recorded from vastus lateralis. The analysis was divided into 2 parts — before and after force had begun to decline (endurance point). The conduction velocity and mean power frequency declined less before the endurance point than after this point. For all forces, the mean EMG voltage increased up to the endurance point. After the endurance point, the effect of fatigue had a decreasing influence on mean EMG voltage.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andreassen S, Arendt-Nielsen L (1985) Fatigue of motor units in the human anterior tibial muscle. Electroenceph Clin Neurophysiol 61:3, S59
Andreassen S, Arendt-Nielsen L (1987) Muscle fibre conduction velocity in motor units of the human anterior tibial muscle: A new size principle parameter. J Physiol 391:561–571
Arendt-Nielsen L, Mills KR (1985) The relationship between mean power frequency of the EMG spectrum and muscle fibre conduction velocity. Electroenceph Clin Neurophysiol 60:130–134
Arendt-Nielsen L, Forster A, Mills KR (1984) EMG power spectral shift and muscle fibre conduction velocity during human muscle fatigue. J Physiol 353:54P
Bigland-Ritchie B (1981) EMG and fatigue of human voluntary and stimulated contractions. In: Porter R, Whelan J (eds) Human muscle fatigue: physiological mechanisms, Ciba Foundation Symposium no. 82, Pitman Medical, London, pp 130–156
Bigland-Ritchie B, Jones DA, Hosking GP, Edwards RHT (1978) Central and peripheral fatigue in sustained maximal voluntary contractions of human quadriceps muscle. Clin Sci Mol Med 54:609–614
Bigland-Ritchie B, Johansson R, Lippold OCJ, Woods JJ (1983) Contractile speed and EMG changes during fatigue of sustained maximal voluntary contraction. J Neurophysiol 50:313–324
Broman H, Bilotto G, de Luca CJ (1985) Myoelectric signal conduction velocity and spectral parameters: influence of force and time. J Appl Physiol 58:1428–1437
Clamann HP (1970) Activity of single motor units during isometric tension. Neurology 20:254–260
Cobb S, Forbes A (1923) Electromyographic studies of muscular fatigue in man. Am J Physiol 65:234–251
Courier DP (1969) Measurement of muscle fatigue. Physiol Ther 49:724–730
De Luca CJ (1979) Physiology and mathematics of myoelectric signals. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng 26, 6:313–325
De Vries HA (1968) Efficiency of electrical activity as a physiological measure of the functional state of muscle tissue. Am J Physiol Med 47, 10:10–22
Edwards RG, Lippold OCJ (1956) The relation between force and integrated electrical activity in fatigued muscle. J Physiol 132:677–681
Edwards RHT, Young A, Hosking GP, Jones DA (1977) Human skeletal muscle function description of tests and normal values. Clin Sci Mol Med 52:283–290
Gydikov A, Kosarov D (1974) Some features of different motor units in human biceps brachii. Arch Ges Physiol 347:75–88
Hakkinen K, Komi PV (1983) Electromyographic and mechanical characteristics of human skeletal muscle during fatigue under voluntary and reflex conditions. Electroenceph Clin Neurophysiol 55:436–444
Hannerz J (1974) Discharge properties of motor units in relation to recruitment order in voluntary contraction. Acta Physiol Scand 91:374–384
Jones DA, Bigland-Ritchie B, Edwards RHT (1979) Excitation frequency and muscle fatigue: Mechanical responses during voluntary and stimulated contractions. Exp Neurol 64:401–413
Kahabka G (1984) Erweiterung arbeitswissenschaftlicher Methodik durch differenzierte Elektromyographie. Fortschr Ber VDI-Z, VDI-Verlag, Düsseldorf, 23:65–146
Kasser RJ, Lehr RP (1979) Electromyographic frequency response of the biceps brachii in an isometric contraction to fatigue. Electromyogr Clin Neurophysiol 19:175–181
Kogi K, Hakamada T (1962) Slowing of surface electromyogram and muscle strength in muscle fatigue. Rep Inst Sci Labour (Tokyo) 60:39–74
Laurig W (1970) Elektromyographie als arbeitswissenschaftliche Untersuchungsmethode zur Beurteilung von statischer Muskelarbeit. Beuth Vertrieb, Berlin
Lindström L, Magnusson R, Petersen I (1970) Muscular fatigue and action potential conduction velocity changes studied with frequency analysis of EMG signals. Electromyogr Clin Neurophysiol 10:341–356
Lindström L, Kadefors R, Petersen I (1977) An electromyographic index for localized muscle fatigue. J Appl Physiol 43:750–754
Lippold OCJ, Redfearn JWT, Vuco J (1960) The electromyography of fatigue. Ergonomics 3:121–131
Loofbourow GN (1948) Electrographic evaluation of mechanical responses in mammaliar skeletal muscle in different conditions. J Neurophysiol 11:153–168
Mills KR (1982) Power spectral analysis of electromyogram and compound muscle action potential during muscle fatigue and recovery. J Physiol 326:401–409
Milner-Brown HS, Stein RB, Yemm R (1973) Changes in firing rate of human motor units during linearly changing voluntary contractions. J Physiol 230:371–390
Missiuro W, Kirschner H, Kozlowski S (1962) Electromyographic manifestations of fatigue during work of different intensity. Acta Physiol Pol 13:11–20
Miyazaki S (1977) An interactive microcomputer system for the analysis of EMG spikes and twitch waveforms of human motor units. Comput Biol Res 10:287–296
Naeije M, Zorn H (1982) Relation between EMG power spectrum shift and muscle fibre action potential conduction velocity changes during local muscular fatigue in man. Eur J Appl Physiol 50:23–33
Naess K, Storm-Mathison A (1955) Fatigue of sustained tetanic contractions. Acta Physiol Scand 34:351–366
Petrofsky JS, Lind AR (1980) Frequency analysis of the surface electromyogram during sustained isometric contractions. Eur J Appl Physiol 43:173–182
Piper H (1912) Electrophysiologie Menschliche Muskeln. Berlin, Germany: Springer, Berlin p 126
Sadoyama T, Miyano H (1981) Frequency analysis of surface EMG to evaluation of muscle fatigue. Eur J Appl Physiol 47:239–246
Sadoyama T, Masuda T, Miyano H (1983) Relationships between muscle fibre conduction velocity and frequency parameters of surface EMG during sustained contraction. Eur J Appl Physiol 51:247–256
Scherrer J, Bourguignon A (1959) Changes in the electromyogram produced by fatigue in man. Am J Phys Med 38:148–158
Slomic A, Rosenfalck A, Buchthal F (1968) Electrical and mechanical responses of normal and myasthenic muscle, with particular reference to the staircase phenomenon. Brain Res 10:1–78
Stephens JA, Taylor A (1972) Fatigue of maintained voluntary muscle contraction in man. J Physiol 220:1–18
Stulen FB, de Luca CJ (1981) Frequency parameters of the myoelectric signal as a measure of muscle conduction velocity. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng 28:515–523
Viitasalo JHT, Komi PV (1977) Signal characteristics of EMG during fatigue. Eur J Appl Physiol 37:111–121
Visser SL, de Rijke W (1974) Comparison of EMG in normal test subjects, hemiparetic patients and Parkinson patients with special reference to changes in response to fatigue. Eur Neurol 11:97–107
Weizsäcker von (1921) Über Willkürbewegungen und Reflexe bei Erkrankungen des Zentralnervensystems. Dtsch Z Nervenheilk 70:115–130
Young JL, Mayer RF (1981) Physiological properties and classification of single motor units activated by intramuscular microstimulation in the first dorsal interossous muscle in man. In: Desmedt JE (ed). Motor Unit Types, recruitment and plasticity in health and disease. Prog Clin Neurophysiol, vol 9. Karger, Basel, pp 17–25
Zwarts MJ, Haenen HTM, van Weerden TW (1987) The relation between the average muscle fibre conduction velocity and EMG power spectra during isometric contraction, recovery and applied ischemia. Eur J Appl Physiol 56:212–216
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Arendt-Nielsen, L., Mills, K.R. Muscle fibre conduction velocity, mean power frequency, mean EMG voltage and force during submaximal fatiguing contractions of human quadriceps. Europ. J. Appl. Physiol. 58, 20–25 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00636598
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00636598