Electromyography applied to sport ergonomics

Abstract

The improvement of electromyographic (EMG) devices for the detection of electric potentials produced in voluntary complex movements and the evolution of methodological approaches to data acquisition and computerized analysis of patterns, are responsible for the increased applications of EMG in bioengineering, rehabilitation, sport and occupational biomechanics, physiology and zoology and to a lesser extent in ergonomics. This paper describes three different EMG applications related to a sport environment using three different EMG registration and data acquisition approaches.

The first study examined the relation between the swimming action in water and its simulation using training equipment on land. It was found that with respect to the mechanical aspects of dry-land equipment and to the biomechanical differences in the execution of the front crawl action on dry land and in water, based on EMG activity of the propulsion muscles, the best results were found when using devices with accommodating resistance. Recovery muscles were best imitated using isokinetics, but despite the greater effort on land, lower EMG activity was recorded than in water. It was generally observed that whenever the swimmer acted against a mechanical resistance an important pattern deviation was noted.

Second, a study to determine the influence of ski materials on the EMG muscle activity of skiers showed systematic differences between the use of racing, soft and compact skis. The results supported the idea that the soft ski should be more highly recommended than the compact or racing ski for both general and competive use.

Finally, in a third study we found that there was a very high degree of similarity in the pattern and intensity of muscle activity in both free swimming and swimming against a mechanical resistance (MAD swimming), even though the kinesiological aspects of the movement trajectory were proved different beforehand.

Keywords:

• Electromyography
• Biomechanics
• Swimming and dry land training
• Ski material
• Active drag
• Light traces
• Remote and on-line EMG data acquisition