An anatomical and surface electromyography study of the fatigue characteristics of Longissimus Thoracis pars Thoracis, Iliocostalis Lumborum pars Thoracis and Lumbar Multifidus

Abstract

This study investigated the myoelectric effects of muscle fatigue in Longissimus Thoracis, Iliocostalis Lumborum pars Thoracis and lumbar Multifidus during standardised muscle fatigue tests and in a marine environment. These muscles contribute significantly to the extensor moment of the lumbar spine and are an important postural stabiliser. Fatigue of these muscles is considered to contribute to the aetiology of low back pain; rehabilitation approaches that improve muscle endurance capacity would benefit from a better understanding of how these muscles fatigue.

A feasibility study methodology was developed and a case series study undertaken to establish the utility of standardised fatigue testing before and after a marine high-speed transit that is considered to cause muscle fatigue. Surface EMG data were collected in combination with heart rate and motion data of the vessel and study participants. Standardised fatigue testing was utilised before and after the task to determine the sensitivity of the test; the test was not shown to have clinical utility in this case.

Methodology was developed, using high-density surface electromyography (sEMG) and high-density surface electrodes, in order to analyse data from multiple locations over each muscle of interest. Software was developed that enabled specific channels and segments of data to be analysed.

A post-mortem anatomical study, in an older population, was completed and this provided position and angle data from bony landmarks for the accurate positioning of high-density surface electrodes and subsequent interpretation of high-density sEMG signal data.

A pilot validation study, utilising magnetic resonance images (MRI), compared results of the anatomical study with a MRI series from an older population and a further series in a younger population. The results of these studies partly concur, add to previous study results and provide data on sEMG electrode placement that will aid further sEMG studies.

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