Long-term electromyographic activity in upper trapezius and low back muscles of women with moderate physical activity

Abstract

The habitual activity patterns of trapezius and postural back muscles (multifidus, iliocostalis, longissimus) of 23 female subjects with moderate physical activity were studied. Bilateral surface electromyographic (sEMG) recordings from start of work until bedtime were analyzed. The activity level was calibrated as percentage of root mean square-detected muscle activity at maximal voluntary contraction (EMGmax). Sixty-six previous trapezius recordings of women with moderate physical activity were included in some analyses to pursue the full range of variation in trapezius activity. Twenty-six of these were recorded twice, separated by 16–28 mo. Median activity level and duration of periods with sEMG activity of <0.5% EMGmax (“rest time”; only trapezius) and exceeding 2 (“burst time”), 10, 30, and 50% EMGmax was determined. The trapezius median activity level ranged from 0.6 to 8.8% EMGmax, burst time from 9 to 84%, and rest time from 2 to 84%. The activity patterns of the back muscles showed similar large interindividual variation. Repeated trapezius recordings of the same subject showed high consistency; intraclass correlation coefficients ranged from 0.62 to 0.79 for different sEMG variables. Periods with high sEMG amplitude were of short duration; 7% of the trapezius recordings did not present time intervals (0.2-s duration) above 50% EMGmax. The activity patterns of the postural muscles, despite large interindividual variability, were distinctly different from activity patterns of upper and lower limb muscles reported by others (e.g., mean burst time 40–50 vs. 10–20%). We conclude that postural trunk muscles show idiosyncratic activity patterns with large interindividual variation. High-threshold motor units are activated to a very minor extent.