Enhancement of muscle’s activity by woven compression bandage

Abstract

Electromyography (EMG) test, the recording of electrical activity in muscle, is a main tool usually used to evaluate themuscle’s activation. This study aims to discuss and analyse the effect of woven compression bandage (WCB) onmuscles’ activation. Flexor Carpi (FC), Soleus (SO), and Medial Gastrocnemius (MG) muscles were selected torepresent the wrist, ankle, and mid-calf muscles respectively, which were then evaluated by EMG electrical voltage testwith and without wearing WCB. The standardized activities used to test the FC muscle were flexion-extension andsqueezing a soft roll. While the protocol activities for MG and SO muscles were flexion-extension and walking actions.Wearing WCB significantly decreased the muscle’s activation and was associated with higher median frequency for bothSO and MG muscles during the tested activities. The EMG signals were analysed and filtered using MegaWin andMATLAB software. Root mean square (RMS) values confirmed that wearing WCB could improve the performance of FC,SO, and MG muscles and might reduce the muscle’s fatigue during the selected activities.