Surface EMG (Electrical Signal) based fatigue analysis during repetitive work

• Main Author: Wan Nurul Syahirah, Wan Lanang
• Format: Undergraduates Project Papers
• Language: English
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: GV Recreation Leisure; Q Science (General); T Technology (General)
• Online Access: http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/13167/1/FKP%20-%20WAN%20NURUL%20SYAHIRAH%20WAN%20LANANG%20-%20CD%209736.pdf; http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/13167/
• Institution: Universiti Malaysia Pahang

Muscle fatigue is defined as a reduction in the force generating capacity of a muscle due to previous or repetitive activity. The powerful use of muscles might cause a decline in body’s performance. In this study, the effects of muscle fatigue involving only biceps brachii muscle were investigated during the course of dynamic contractions were produced by the volunteered subjects. The experiment was conducted to monitor the progress of muscle strength among the students. Eight male students (age: (23.3±0.46) years, height: (166.8±4.46) cm, weight: (64.9±11.8) kg) and two female students (age: (23.0±0) years, height: (151.0±2.83) cm, weight: (54.5±0.71) kg) were participated in this study. Electrodes were placed on the middle of the biceps brachii muscle to record the electromyography (EMG) signals. Each subject participated in two different experiments with 3 trials where first experiment involved 2 minutes rest between each trial and second experiment involved 5 minutes rest for each trial. Muscle fatigue was analysed and compared between the two experiments EMG data. The results were evaluated by calculating the average EMG, root mean square (RMS), and the maximum absolute value (MAV) during dynamic contraction of the muscle. The RMS and MAV value helped in efficiently assessing muscle fatigue. Most of the results indicated that muscle fatigue mostly happened in the second experiment with 5 minutes rest between each trial. The current finding regarding the muscle biceps brachii might prove to be useful in developing effective injury prevention and rehabilitation.