Life Sci 3J03 Review

ELECTROMYOGRAPHY
PHASIC ACTIVITY
- Amplitude increases as muscle becomes more active, and decreases when muscle is
relaxed
- Co-contraction when 2 antagonistic muscles are active at the same time
EMG TO ACTIVATION
- Full Wave Rectification estimating amount of activity by taking the absolute value of
each data point
- Calibration:
o smooth rectified EMG can be calibrated to isometric muscle force by having a
subject perform isometric contractions between 0 and their Maximum Voluntary
Contraction (MVC)
o can calculate line of best fit (relationship = often linear)

ASSESSMENT OF FATIGUE
- TASK: Submaximum effort of about 50% MVC
o Low EMG at start, but increased
o Recruited more motor units and increased firing rates to compensate for loss of
contractility due to fatigue
- Frequency Changes:
o Frequency Domain Signal Processing = process of breaking down a time signal
into frequency components
o Most of EMG signal lies between 10 and 250 Hz
o Median Frequency = divides distribution into 2 equal halves by area
o Fatigued muscle = increased amplitude median frequency is lower than
normal
- Tremor and Motor Unit Synchronization
o At Maximum Efforts/Extreme Fatigue motor units tend to fire more
synchronously, which results in tremor (visible shaking)
o Therefore, most industrial tasks are repeated at sub-maximal efforts

MYOELECTRIC PROSTHETICS
- Patient must produce 10-15 microvolts of EMG to activate system
- Electrodes placed over wrist and finger flexor muscle groups
ELECTROMYOGRAPHY
THREE COMPONENT MODEL OF MUSCLE
Contractile Component (CC):
- Component that active generates force in muscle
- CNS activates muscle by sending action potentials release calcium ions from
sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) allows actin and myosin filaments to interact via
crossbridges muscle responds but NOT instantly
1) Force-Time Relation
- Electro-mechanical Delay (EMD) = time from stimulus to beginning of force
development
o Takes 10ms for calcium to leave SR
- Contraction Time = time it takes to twitch to reach maximum force (30-60ms) for fast
twitch fibers and 80-120ms for slow twitch fibers
- Half Relaxation Time = time it takes for calcium to return to SR
o Difficult to take total b/c process is exponential in time

2) Force-Length Relation
- Sarcomere Length = 2.25 microns allows greatest force to be generated
o Longer muscles just have more sacromeres in series
- Sarcomere Dispersion = sacromeres at different locations have different lengths
o Results in U shape for force-length relation for whole muscle
- Anatomical constraints dont allow for muscle to be stretched or shortened to extreme
sarcomere lengths greater than 3.65 microns or less than 1.05 microns therefore
even in extreme ranges, muscle always generates force
- Human Biceps generate most force when fully extended
o Produces less force as the joint flexes

3) Force-Velocity Relation
- Speed at which muscle changes length affects force it can generate
- Force declines in a hyperbolic fashion

Parallel Elastic Component (PEC):

- Connective tissue within muscle have elastic properties that exert force when stretched
- PEC allows force to be generated without muscle activation
o Stores energy when it is stretched
Series Elastic Component (SEC):
- Located within tendon, but also cross-bridges
- Allows internal shortening for isometric force generation
- Stores energy in stretch-shortening cycle movements

Fusiform Muscle fibers run length of muscle

- Generating high force at low velocity
Pennate Muscle shorter fibers that run at an angle between two aponeuroses
 - Have greater cross-sectional area = can generate greater force
- Generating large force at high velocity

STRESS AND STRAIN OF BONE

PHASIC ACTIVITY
- Amplitude increases as muscle becomes more active, and decreases when muscle is
relaxed