[Estimation of intramuscular load of the upper limb in static postures and repetitive work by surface electromyography].
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the intramuscular loads of the upper limb during static postures and repetitive work by surface electromyography.


METHODS
Twenty-six male college student volunteers were recruited for the experiment. The surface electromyography (SEMG) singal were recorded from the brachioradialis, biceps brachii, deltoid and trapezius of right arm during static postures including forward elevating, abducting, extending and a repetitive performance at different height of the bench, and root mean square (RMS) values were educed from the singal.


RESULTS
The SEMG amplitudes from forward elevating and abducting were in direct proportion to the angle of the elevating and abducting (r > 0.9, P < 0.01). The maximal voluntary electrical activation (MVE) of the deltoid were 6.4%, 10.1%, 12.6%, 16.2% and 20.8% while the arm elevated forward at an angle of 0 degrees , 45 degrees , 90 degrees , 135 degrees and 180 degrees respectively. The repetitive work showed that the height of the bench and the duration had more effects on deltoid and trapezius than the other muscles. The MVE% of the deltoid were 13.0%, 14.4% and 15.6% while the bench was 74, 79 and 84 cm in height respectively (P < 0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
SEMG which is suitable for determining and reflecting the muscle strain during static postures and repetitive work may be a reasonable indicator for the assessment of manual workload and the ergonomic design.
Ding
Jia-Shun
JS
School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China.
Wang
Zheng-Lun
ZL
Zhang
Hai-Yang
HY
Yang
Lei
L
D001132:Arm / Q000502:physiology*; D004576:Electromyography; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000502:physiology*; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult