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Textile electromyography electrodes reveal differences in lower limb muscle activation during loaded squats when comparing fixed and free barbell movement paths
INTRODUCTION: Traditional recordings of muscle activation often involve time-consuming application of surface electrodes affixed to the skin in laboratory environments. The development of textile electromyography (EMG) electrodes now allows fast and unobtrusive assessment of muscle activation in eco...
Autores principales: | , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2022
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Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9745169/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36524056 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2022.1021323 |
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author | Svensson, Felicia Aasa, Ulrika Strong, Andrew |
author_facet | Svensson, Felicia Aasa, Ulrika Strong, Andrew |
author_sort | Svensson, Felicia |
collection | PubMed |
description | INTRODUCTION: Traditional recordings of muscle activation often involve time-consuming application of surface electrodes affixed to the skin in laboratory environments. The development of textile electromyography (EMG) electrodes now allows fast and unobtrusive assessment of muscle activation in ecologically valid environments. In this study, textile EMG shorts were used to assess whether performing squats with the barbell resting freely on the shoulders or using a Smith machine for a fixed barbell movement path is preferable for maximizing lower limb muscle activation. METHODS: Sixteen athletes performed free and fixed barbell squats in a gym with external loads equivalent to their body mass. Quadriceps, hamstrings and gluteus maximus activation was measured bilaterally with textile EMG electrodes embedded in shorts. RESULTS: Mean quadriceps activation was greater for the free compared with the fixed movement path for the right (mean difference [MD] 14μV, p = 0.04, ηp(2) = 0.28) and left leg (MD 15μV, p = 0.01, ηp(2) = 0.39) over the entire squat and specifically during the first half of the eccentric phase for the left leg (MD 7μV, p = 0.04, d = 0.56), second half of the eccentric phase for both legs (right leg MD 21μV, p = 0.05, d = 0.54; left leg MD 23μV, p = 0.04, d = 0.52) and the first half of the concentric phase for both legs (right leg MD 24μV, p = 0.04, d = 0.56; left leg MD 15μV, p = 0.01, d = 0.72). Greater hamstrings activation for the free path was seen for the second half of the eccentric phase (left leg MD 4μV, p = 0.03, d = 0.58) and first half of the concentric phase (right leg MD 5μV, p = 0.02, d = 0.72). No significant differences were found for gluteus maximus. DISCUSSION: Textile EMG electrodes embedded in shorts revealed that to maximize thigh muscle activity during loaded squats, a free barbell movement path is preferable to a fixed barbell movement path. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-9745169 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2022 |
publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-97451692022-12-14 Textile electromyography electrodes reveal differences in lower limb muscle activation during loaded squats when comparing fixed and free barbell movement paths Svensson, Felicia Aasa, Ulrika Strong, Andrew Front Sports Act Living Sports and Active Living INTRODUCTION: Traditional recordings of muscle activation often involve time-consuming application of surface electrodes affixed to the skin in laboratory environments. The development of textile electromyography (EMG) electrodes now allows fast and unobtrusive assessment of muscle activation in ecologically valid environments. In this study, textile EMG shorts were used to assess whether performing squats with the barbell resting freely on the shoulders or using a Smith machine for a fixed barbell movement path is preferable for maximizing lower limb muscle activation. METHODS: Sixteen athletes performed free and fixed barbell squats in a gym with external loads equivalent to their body mass. Quadriceps, hamstrings and gluteus maximus activation was measured bilaterally with textile EMG electrodes embedded in shorts. RESULTS: Mean quadriceps activation was greater for the free compared with the fixed movement path for the right (mean difference [MD] 14μV, p = 0.04, ηp(2) = 0.28) and left leg (MD 15μV, p = 0.01, ηp(2) = 0.39) over the entire squat and specifically during the first half of the eccentric phase for the left leg (MD 7μV, p = 0.04, d = 0.56), second half of the eccentric phase for both legs (right leg MD 21μV, p = 0.05, d = 0.54; left leg MD 23μV, p = 0.04, d = 0.52) and the first half of the concentric phase for both legs (right leg MD 24μV, p = 0.04, d = 0.56; left leg MD 15μV, p = 0.01, d = 0.72). Greater hamstrings activation for the free path was seen for the second half of the eccentric phase (left leg MD 4μV, p = 0.03, d = 0.58) and first half of the concentric phase (right leg MD 5μV, p = 0.02, d = 0.72). No significant differences were found for gluteus maximus. DISCUSSION: Textile EMG electrodes embedded in shorts revealed that to maximize thigh muscle activity during loaded squats, a free barbell movement path is preferable to a fixed barbell movement path. Frontiers Media S.A. 2022-11-29 /pmc/articles/PMC9745169/ /pubmed/36524056 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2022.1021323 Text en Copyright © 2022 Svensson, Aasa and Strong. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. |
spellingShingle | Sports and Active Living Svensson, Felicia Aasa, Ulrika Strong, Andrew Textile electromyography electrodes reveal differences in lower limb muscle activation during loaded squats when comparing fixed and free barbell movement paths |
title | Textile electromyography electrodes reveal differences in lower limb muscle activation during loaded squats when comparing fixed and free barbell movement paths |
title_full | Textile electromyography electrodes reveal differences in lower limb muscle activation during loaded squats when comparing fixed and free barbell movement paths |
title_fullStr | Textile electromyography electrodes reveal differences in lower limb muscle activation during loaded squats when comparing fixed and free barbell movement paths |
title_full_unstemmed | Textile electromyography electrodes reveal differences in lower limb muscle activation during loaded squats when comparing fixed and free barbell movement paths |
title_short | Textile electromyography electrodes reveal differences in lower limb muscle activation during loaded squats when comparing fixed and free barbell movement paths |
title_sort | textile electromyography electrodes reveal differences in lower limb muscle activation during loaded squats when comparing fixed and free barbell movement paths |
topic | Sports and Active Living |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9745169/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36524056 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2022.1021323 |
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