What?
When a pair of electrodes is applied on the skin above a muscle and the muscle is voluntary activated, an electrical signal is detected between the electrodes. It is produced by the muscle contraction as a consequence of the requested force output. To record such surface electromyography signals is quite easy, but potentially misleading if the procedure is not properly followed. The first aim of this area of research is to make the EMG analysis as much robust and informative as possible, both in isometric and dynamic conditions.
With the most recent technological advancements, namely the high-density surface EMG, we can now determine the spatial distribution of surface EMG within a muscle and studying the subtle changes that occurs while executing a complex motor task or during the course of a fatiguing exercise. Furthermore, it is also possible to separate and identify the contribution of individual motor units to the EMG signal, and thus study the rate coding of individual motor units. With these means, we are now able to non-invasively estimate the synaptic input received by the motor units and thus understand how much the muscles are excited by the central nervous system.
- Moritani T, Rainoldi A, Boccia G, EMG applications in exercise physiology and sports, chapter in book “Surface electromyography: physiology, engineering and applications”, edited by R. Merletti and D. Farina, IEEE – J. Wiley, doi: 10.1002/9781119082934.ch19
- Barbero M, Merletti R, Rainoldi A, Atlas of Muscle Innervation Zones Understanding Surface Electromyography and Its Applications
- Beretta Piccoli M, Rainoldi A, Heitz C, Wüthrich M, Boccia G, Tomasoni E, Spirolazzi C, Egloff M, Barbero M, Innervation zone locations in 43 superficial muscles: toward a standardization of electrode positioning, Muscle Nerve 2014. doi: 10.1002/mus.23934 -Q3 2.28
- Boccia G, Rainoldi A, Innervation zones location and optimal electrodes position of obliquus internus and obliquus externus abdominis muscles, J Electromyogr Kinesiol. 2014. doi: 10.1016/j.jelekin.2013.10.017 – Q2 1.64
- Cardinale M, Boccia G, Greenway T, Evans O, Rainoldi A. The acute effects of spinal manipulation on neuromuscular function in asymptomatic individuals: A preliminary study. Phys Ther Sport. 2015 May;16(2):121-6. doi: 10.1016/j.ptsp.2014.06.004. – Q2 1.57
- Boccia G, Dardanello D, Coratella G, Rinaldo N, Schena F, Rainoldi A, Differences in age-related fiber atrophy between vastii muscles of active subjects: a multichannel surface EMG study. Physiol Meas. 2015. doi: 10.1088/0967-3334/36/7/1591. – Q3 1.57
- Boccia G, Dardanello D, Rosso V, Pizzigalli L, Rainoldi A. The Application of sEMG in Aging: A Mini Review. 2015. doi: 10.1159/000368655. – Q2 3.09
- Mesin L, Dardanello D, Rainoldi A, Boccia G, Motor unit firing rates and synchronisation affect the fractal dimension of simulated surface electromyogram during isometric/isotonic contraction of vastus lateralis muscle. Med Eng Phys. 2016. doi: 10.1016/j.medengphy.2016.09.022. – Q3 1.81
- Beretta-Piccoli M, Boccia G, Ponti T, Clijsen R, Barbero M, Cescon C, Relationship between Isometric Muscle Force and Fractal Dimension of Surface Electromyogram, BioMed Research International, 2018, doi: 10.1155/2018/5373846 – Q3 2.19
- Boccia G, Martinez-Valdes E, Negro F, Rainoldi A, Falla D. Motor unit discharge rate and the estimated synaptic input to the vasti muscles is higher in open compared to closed kinetic chain exercise, J Appl Physiol. 2019. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00310.2019 – Q1 3.14
Who?
NMF 