Teaching Essential EMG Theory to Kinesiologists and Physical Therapists Using Analogies Visual Descriptions, and Qualitative Analysis of Biophysical Concepts.

Publisher: MDPI Country of Publication: Switzerland NLM ID: 101204366 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1424-8220 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 14248220 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Sensors (Basel) Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: Basel, Switzerland : MDPI, c2000-

Motor Neurons*/physiology ; Physical Therapists*; Action Potentials/physiology ; Biophysical Phenomena ; Electromyography ; Humans ; Muscle, Skeletal/physiology

Electromyography (EMG) is a multidisciplinary field that brings together allied health (kinesiology and physical therapy) and the engineering sciences (biomedical and electrical). Since the physical sciences are used in the measurement of a biological process, the presentation of the theoretical foundations of EMG is most conveniently conducted using math and physics. However, given the multidisciplinary nature of EMG, a course will most likely include students from diverse backgrounds, with varying levels of math and physics. This is a pedagogical paper that outlines an approach for teaching foundational concepts in EMG to kinesiologists and physical therapists that uses a combination of analogies, visual descriptions, and qualitative analysis of biophysical concepts to develop an intuitive understanding for those who are new to surface EMG. The approach focuses on muscle fiber action potentials (MFAPs), motor unit action potentials (MUAPs), and compound muscle action potentials (CMAPs) because changes in these waveforms are much easier to identify and describe in comparison to the surface EMG interference pattern (IP).

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RGPIN-2017-04601 Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council

Keywords: compound muscle action potential; monopolar and bipolar surface electrode configuration; motor unit; muscle fiber; volume conduction

Date Created: 20220909 Date Completed: 20220912 Latest Revision: 20220913

20250114

PMC9460425

10.3390/s22176555

36081014