Force-length, torque-angle and EMG-joint angle relationships of the human in vivo biceps brachii

Abstract

The relationships of EMG and muscle force with elbow joint angle were investigated for muscle modelling purposes. Eight subjects had their arms fixed in an isometric elbow jig where the biceps brachii was electrically stimulated (30 Hz) and also in maximum voluntary contraction (MVC). Biceps EMG and elbow torque transduced at the wrist were recorded at 0.175 rad intervals through 1.75 rad of elbow extension. The results revealed that while the torque-length relationship displayed the classic inverted "U" pattern in both evoked and MVC conditions, the force-length relationship displayed a monotonically increasing pattern. Analyses of variance of the EMG data showed that there were no significant changes in the EMG amplitudes for the different joint angles during evoked or voluntary contractions. The result also showed that electrical stimulation can effectively isolated the torque-angle and force-length relationships of the biceps brachii and that the myoelectric signal during isometric contraction is uniform regardless of the length of the muscle or the joint angle.