Changes in Recruitment Strategy for Varying Joint Angle
Open Access
Author:
Doyle, Kathleen Anne
Area of Honors:
Kinesiology
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Benjamin William Infantolino, Thesis Supervisor Dr. Sandy Feinstein, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
First Dorsal Interosseous Recruitment Strategy Muscle Modeling
Abstract:
In settings such as rehabilitation and surgeries, it is assumed that for maximal activation at different angles, the activation dynamics of the muscle will be unchanged since the muscle is still working at its maximum for that angle. If the assumed relationship can be confirmed, muscle models will increase in validity. To investigate this assumption, this study was designed to explore if a change in activation dynamics occurs when the first dorsal interosseous (FDI) muscle is activated through a range of motion. Five males and one female were recruited to perform a series of force producing tasks while a decomposition electromyography (dEMG) machine recorded their FDI muscle activity. The tasks included maximal voluntary contraction, decomposition and following a tracking paradigm at 50% of their maximum across the angles of 0°, 5°, 10°, 15° and 20° index finger abduction. Primary results showed that statistically, length had an effect on the recruitment strategy of the muscle. Further research would be needed to infer these results on a larger population.
