Investigating the Muscular and Kinematic Responses to Sudden Wrist Perturbations During a Dynamic Tracking Task

Sudden disturbances (perturbations) to the hand and wrist are commonplace in daily activities and workplaces when interacting with tools and the environment. It is important to understand how perturbations influence forearm musculature and task performance when identifying injury mechanisms. The purpose of this work was to evaluate changes in forearm muscle activity and co-contraction caused by wrist perturbations during a dynamic wrist tracking task. Surface electromyography was recorded from eight muscles of the upper-limb. Participants performed trials consisting of 17 repetitions of ±40° of wrist flexion/extension using a robotic device. During trials, participants received radial or ulnar perturbations that were delivered during flexion or extension, and with known or unknown timing. Co-contraction ratios for all muscle pairs showed significantly greater extensor activity across all experimental conditions. Of all antagonistic muscle pairs, the flexor carpi radialis (FCR)-extensor carpi radialis (ECR) muscle pair had the greatest change in co-contraction, producing 1602% greater co-contraction during flexion trials than during extensions trials. Expected perturbations produced greater anticipatory (immediately prior to the perturbation) muscle activity than unexpected, resulting in a 30% decrease in wrist displacement. While improving performance, this increase in anticipatory muscle activity may leave muscles susceptible to early-onset fatigue, which could lead to chronic overuse injuries in the workplace.