Investigation of Localized Muscle
Fatigue
A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree of Master of Engineering
Vivek Yadav
Bachelor of Technology
School of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Science, Engineering and Health College
RMIT University
March 2010
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Declaration
I certify that except where due acknowledgement has been made, the work is that
of the author alone; the work has not been submitted previously, in whole or in
part, to qualify for any other academic award; the content of the thesis is the result
of work which has been carried out since the official commencement date of the
approved research program; any editorial work, paid or unpaid, carried out by a
third party is acknowledged; and, ethics procedures and guidelines have been
followed.
Vivek Yadav
March 31, 2010
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Acknowledgements
I would like to express my appreciation and sincere gratitude to my supervisors,
Dr. John Fang and Associate Professor Dinesh Kant Kumar for their valuable
guidance, advice and encouragement throughout the course of this thesis. I thank
them from the bottom of my heart. I express my deepest appreciation to them for
their support, unlimited assistance, criticism and beneficial advice throughout my
candidature at RMIT University.
I would like to thank Dr. Sridhar Arjunan for his constant support and suggestions
to accomplish my research.
I would like to thank Dr. Vuk Vojisavljevic for his unconditional support as and
when needed. Also I would like to extend my appreciation to my supervisors’
fellow research students for helping me out whenever they could. Thanks and
appreciations are due to Professor Ian Burnett, head of school for his unbiased
advice and support throughout my candidature. I would like to thank all
technicians, secretaries and personnel in the School of Electrical and Computer
Engineering at RMIT University for their help and cooperation.
Without the participants who took part in this study I would have never been able
to produce this work. So I salute all the participants who took out precious time
from their everyday responsibilities for their participation in this research.
I wish to express my sincere gratitude to my family members and friends, for
providing me with the encouragement to carry out research for the last two years.
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Special thanks are due to my brother Vikas Yadav for his continuous support and
encouragement in every possible way throughout my studies.
Last but by no means least; I would like to thank my dear parents, Sh. Dharam Pal
and Smt. Sarla Devi. Nothing I can say can adequately express my gratitude for
the adoration, support and encouragement they provided throughout my life. I am
grateful to Omnipotent God for the gift of such caring parents.
Vivek Yadav
Table of Contents
Declaration..........................................................................................................................ii
Acknowledgements............................................................................................................iii
Table of Contents................................................................................................................ v
List of Figures..................................................................................................................viii
List of Tables ...................................................................................................................... x
Abstract.............................................................................................................................. xi
Chapter 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1
1.1 Problem Statement .................................................................................................... 4
1.2 Aim of the Research.................................................................................................. 4
1.3 Outline of Thesis....................................................................................................... 4
Chapter 2............................................................................................................................. 6
Background and Literature Review .................................................................................... 6
2.1 Introduction............................................................................................................... 6
2.1.1 Anatomy and Physiology of Muscle.................................................................. 8
2.1.2 Motor Unit Action Potential (MUAP) ............................................................. 10
2.1.3 Muscle Studied- Biceps Brachii....................................................................... 11
2.2 Electromyography (EMG) ...................................................................................... 12
2.2.1 EMG – Anatomical and Physiological Background ........................................ 13
2.2.2 History of EMG ............................................................................................... 14
2.2.3 Surface EMG (SEMG) Signal.......................................................................... 17
2.2.4 SEMG and Fatigue........................................................................................... 17
2.3 Muscle Fatigue Analysis......................................................................................... 18
2.3.1 Effect of Fatigue on SEMG ............................................................................. 18
2.3.1.1 Isometric contractions............................................................................... 18
2.3.1.2 Cyclic / Dynamic contractions.................................................................. 21
2.3.2 Analysis of SEMG ........................................................................................... 24
2.3.3 Frequency Domain Analysis............................................................................ 25
2.3.4 Time Domain Analysis .................................................................................... 26
Chapter 3 Methodology .................................................................................................... 28
3.1 Experimental Methodology .................................................................................... 29
3.1.1 Participant Selection ........................................................................................ 29
3.1.2 Equipment and Software.................................................................................. 30
3.1.3 Experimental Protocol...................................................................................... 31
3.1.3.1 Isometric Contractions .............................................................................. 34
3.1.3.2 Cyclic Contractions................................................................................... 35