The usefulness of surface electromyography in rehabilitation and physiotherapy: systematic review

Aleksandra Radecka, Anna Lubkowska

Abstract


Introduction: Technological developments in surface electromyography (sEMG) equipment are providing more and more new opportunities in the application of this technique in different fields, not just in clinical medicine but also in physiotherapy.

The purpose of this study is an educational review that provides examples of the clinical use of sEMG in rehabilitation and physiotherapy.

Materials and methods: Studies were searched for on the PubMed and ScienceDirect databases using the following descriptors: “sEMG rehabilitation”, “sEMG physiotherapy”, “surface electromyography physiotherapy”, “surface electromyography rehabilitation”, resulting in 28,040 citations in total. After reviewing for inclusion criteria – methodological quality assessment using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale and consistency with the theme of systematic review – 28,023 studies were removed from the analysis.

Results: The qualified 14 works were divided into 4 categories depending on the sEMG application area: urogenital system dysfunction (322 patients, PEDro scale average rating of 6.33), central nervous system damage (120 patients, PEDro scale average rating of 6.6), lower back pain (181 patients, PEDro scale average rating of 5.33) and musculoskeletal disorders (244 patients, PEDro scale average rating of 6.66).

Conclusions: The most recent examples of the use of sEMG in intervention studies in rehabilitation and physiotherapy in the last 5 years concerned neurology, urology, gynaecology, paediatrics, pulmonary medicine and orthopaedics.


Full Text:

PDF

References


Choi KH, Kwon OS, Jerng UM, Lee SM, Kim LH, Jung J. Development of electromyographic indicators for the diagnosis of temporomandibular disorders: a protocol for an assessor-blinded cross-sectional study. Integr Med Res 2017;6(1):97-104. doi: 10.1016/j.imr.2017.01.003.

Elamvazuthi I, Duy NHX, Ali Z, Su SW, Ahamed Khan MKA, Parasuraman S. Electromyography (EMG) based Classification of Neuromuscular Disorders using Multi-Layer Perceptron. Procedia Comput Sci 2015;76:223-8.

De Luca CJ. Myoelectrical manifestations of localized muscular fatigue in humans. Crit Rev Biomed Eng 1984;11(4):251-79.

De Luca CJ. The Use of Surface Electromyography in Biomechanics. J Appl Biomech 1997;13:135-63.

Green LA, Christie A, Gabriel DA. Spike shape analysis for the surface and needle electromyographic interference pattern. Biomed Signal Process Control 2017;36:1-10.

Chowdhury RH, Reaz MB, Ali MA, Bakar AA, Chellappan K, Chang TG. Surface electromyography signal processing and classification techniques. Sensors (Basel) 2013;13(9):12431-66. doi: 10.3390/s130912431.

Nurhanim K, Elamvazuthi I, Vasant P, Ganesan T, Parasuraman S, Ahmed Khan MKA. Joint Torque Estimation Model of Surface Electromyography (sEMG) Based on Swarm Intelligence Algorithm for Robotic Assistive Device. Procedia Comput Sci 2014;42:175-82.

Sidek SN, Jalaludin NA, Shamsudin AU. Surface Electromyography (sEMG)-based Thumb-tip Angle and Force Estimation Using Artificial Neural Network for Prosthetic Thumb. Procedia Eng 2012;41:650-6.

Mane SM, Kambli RA, Kazi FS, Singh NM. Hand Motion Recognition from Single Channel Surface EMG Using Wavelet & Artificial Neural Network. Procedia Comput Sci 2015;49:58-65.

Ptaszkowski K, Zdrojowy R, Slupska L, Bartnicki J, Dembowski J, Halski T, et al. Assessment of bioelectrical activity of pelvic floor muscles depending on the orientation of the pelvis in menopausal women with symptoms of stress urinary incontinence: continued observational study. Eur J Phys Rehabil Med 2017;53(4):564-74. doi: 10.23736/S1973-9087.17.04475-6.

Monaco A, Sgolastra F, Pietropaoli D, Giannoni M, Cattaneo R. Comparison between sensory and motor transcutaneous electrical nervous stimulation on electromyographic and kinesiographic activity of patients with temporomandibular disorder: a controlled clinical trial. BMC Musculoskelet Disord 2013;14:168. doi: 10.1186/1471-2474-14-168.

Alazrai R, Khalifeh A, Alnuman N, Alabed D, Mowafi Y. An ensemble-based regression approach for continuous estimation of wrist and fingers movements from surface electromyography. Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc 2016;2016:319-22. doi: 10.1109/EMBC.2016.7590704.

Ferreira AP, Costa DR, Oliveira AI, Carvalho EA, Conti PC, Costa YM, et al. Short-term transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation reduces pain and improves the masticatory muscle activity in temporomandibular disorder patients: a randomized controlled trial. J Appl Oral Sci 2017;25(2):112-20. doi: 10.1590/1678-77572016-0173.

Silva NS, de Almeida PHTQ, Mendes PVB, Komino CSM, Jùnior JMN, Da Cruz DMC. Electromyographic Activity of the Upper Limb in Three Hand Function Tests. Hong Kong J Occup Ther 2017;29(1):10-18. doi: 10.1016/j.hkjot.2016.11.003.

Green LA, Gabriel DA. Anthropometrics and electromyography as predictors for maximal voluntary isometric arm strength. J Sport Health Sci 2012;1(2):107-13.

Lubkowska A, Radecka A, Bryczkowska I, Rotter I, Laszczyńska M, Karakiewicz B. Changes in the bioelectric activity of the trapezius muscle following the thermal effect of red light and infrared radiation. J Back Musculoskelet Rehabil 2018;31(4):645-56. doi: 10.3233/BMR-169745.

Moher D, Liberati A, Telzlaff J, Altman DG, PRISMA Group. Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement. BMJ 2009;339:b2535. doi: 10.1136/bmj.b2535.

Khan KS, Kunz R, Kleijnen J, Antes G. Five steps to conducting a systematic review. J R Soc Med 2003;96(3):118-21.

Phillips B, Ball C, Sackett D, Badenoch D, Staus S, Haynes B. Oxford Centre for Evidence-based Medicine – Levels of Evidence (March 2009). http://www.cebm.net/oxford-centre-evidence-based-medicine-levels-evidence-march-2009/ (22.05.2019).

Maher CG, Sherrington C, Herbert RD, Moseley AM, Elkins M. Reliability of the PEDro scale for rating quality of randomized controlled trials. Phys Ther 2003;83(8):713-21.

Hou CP, Chen TY, Chang CC, Lin YH, Chang PL, Chen CL, et al. Use of the SF-36 quality of life scale to assess the effect of pelvic floor muscle exercise on aging males who received transurethral prostate surgery. Clin Interv Aging 2013;8:667-73. doi: 10.2147/CIA.S44321.

Dieperink KB, Johansen C, Hansen S, Wagner L, Andersen KK, Minet LR, et al. The effects of multidisciplinary rehabilitation: RePCa – a randomised study among primary prostate cancer patients. Br J Cancer 2013;109(12):3005-13. doi: 10.1038/bjc.2013.679.

Terlikowski R, Dobrzycka B, Kinalski M, Kuryliszyn-Moskal A, Terlikowski SJ. Transvaginal electrical stimulation with surface-EMG biofeedback in managing stress urinary incontinence in women of premenopausal age: a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial. Int Urogynecol J 2013;24(10):1631-8. doi: 10.1007/s00192-013-2071-5.

Patten C, Condliffe EG, Dairaghi CA, Lum PS. Concurrent neuromechanical and functional gains following upper-extremity power training post-stroke. J Neuroeng Rehabil 2013;10:1. doi: 10.1186/1743-0003-10-1.

Ramos-Murguialday A, Broetz D, Rea M, Läer L, Yilmaz Ö, Fabricio L, et al. Brain-machine interface in chronic stroke rehabilitation: a controlled study. Ann Neurol 2013;74(1):100-8. doi: 10.1002/ana.23879.

Xu K, He L, Mai J, Yan X, Chen Y. Muscle Recruitment and Coordination following Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy with Electrical Stimulation on Children with Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy: A Randomized Controlled Trial. PLoS One 2015;10(10):e0138608. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0138608.

Lomond KV, Henry SM, Hitt JR, DeSarno MJ, Bunn JY. Altered postural responses persist following physical therapy of general versus specific trunk exercises in people with low back pain. Man Ther 2014;19(5):425-32. doi: 10.1016/j.math.2014.04.007.

Jacobs JV, Lomond KV, Hitt JR, DeSarno MJ, Bunn JY, Henry SM. Effects of low back pain and of stabilization or movement-system-impairment treatments on induced postural responses: A planned secondary analysis of a randomised controlled trial. Man Ther 2016;21:210-9. doi: 10.1016/j.math.2015.08.006.

Lomond KV, Jacobs JV, Hitt JR, DeSarno MJ, Bunn JY, Henry SM. Effects of low back pain stabilization or movement system impairment treatments on voluntary postural adjustments: a randomized controlled trial. Spine J 2014;15(4):596-606. doi: 10.1016/j.spinee.2014.10.020.

Park YH, Park YS, Lee YT, Shin HS, Oh MK, Hong J, et al. The effect of a core exercise program on Cobb angle and back muscle activity in male students with functional scoliosis: a prospective, randomized, parallel-group, comparative study. J Int Med Res 2016;44(3):728-34. doi: 10.1177/0300060516639750.

Halvorsen M, Falla D, Gizzi L, Harms-Ringdahl K, Peolsson A, Dedering Å. Short- and long-term effects of exercise on neck muscle function in cervical radiculopathy: A randomized clinical trial. J Rehabil Med 2016;48(8):696-704. doi: 10.2340/16501977-2120.

Sundstrup E, Jakobsen MD, Brandt M, Jay K, Aagaard P, Andersen LL. Strength Training Improves Fatigue Resistance and Self-Rated Health in Workers with Chronic Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Biomed Res Int 2016;2016:4137918.

de Oliveira Melo M, Pompeo KD, Baroni BM, Vaz MA. Effects of neuromuscular electrical stimulation and low-level laser therapy on neuromuscular parameters and health status in elderly women with knee osteoarthritis: A randomized trial. J Rehabil Med 2016;48(3):293-9. doi: 10.2340/16501977-2062.

Wada JT, Borges-Santos E, Porras DC, Paisani DM, Cukier A, Lunardi AC, et al. Effects of aerobic training combined with respiratory muscle stretching on the functional exercise capacity and thoracoabdominal kinematics in patients with COPD: a randomized and controlled trial. Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis 2016;11:2691-700.

Villa-Parra AC, Delisle-Rodríguez D, López-Delis A, Bastos-Filho T, Sagaró R, Frizera-Neto A. Towards a robotic knee exoskeleton control based on human motion intention through EEG and sEMG signals. Procedia Manuf 2015;3:1379-86.

Ganesan Y, Gobee S, Durairajah V. Development of an Upper Limb Exoskeleton for Rehabilitation with Feedback from EMG and IMU Sensor. Procedia Comput Sci 2015;76:53-9.

Felsner EM, Litzenberger S, Mally F, Sabo A. Musculoskeletal modelling of elite handcycling motion: evaluation of muscular on- and offset. Procedia Eng 2016;147:168-74.

Kasmer ME, Ketchum NC, Liu XC. The effect of shoe type on gait in forefoot strike runners during a 50-km run. J Sport Health Sci 2014;3(2):122-30.

Bianchi F, Cursi M, Ferrari M, Salonia A, Amadio S, Comi G, et al. Quantitative EMG of external urethral sphincter in neurologically healthy men with prostate pathology. Muscle Nerve 2014;50(4):571-6. doi: 10.1002/mus.24189.

Tang L, Chen X, Cao S, Wu D, Zhao G, Zhang X. Assessment of Upper Limb Motor Dysfunction for Children with Cerebral Palsy Based on Muscle Synergy Analysis. Front Hum Neurosci 2017;11:130. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00130.

Bhagat NA, Venkatakrishnan A, Abibullaev B, Artz EJ, Yozbatiran N, Blank AA, et al. Design and Optimization of an EEG-Based Brain Machine Interface (BMI) to an Upper-Limb Exoskeleton for Stroke Survivors. Front Neurosci 2016;10:122. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2016.00122.

Belda-Lois JM, Mena-del Horno S, Bermejo-Bosch I, Moreno JC, Pons JL, Farina D, et al. Rehabilitation of gait after stroke: a review towards a top-down approach. J Neuroeng Rehabil 2011;8:66. doi: 10.1186/1743-0003-8-66.

Bazrgari B, Xia T. Application of advanced biomechanical methods in studying low back pain – recent development in estimation of lower back loads and large-array surface electromyography and findings. J Pain Res 2017;10:1677-85. doi: 10.2147/JPR.S139185.

Yue YS, Wang XD, Xie B, Li ZH, Chen BL, Wang XQ, et al. Sling exercise for chronic low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One 2014;9(6):e99307. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0099307.

Geisser ME, Ranavaya M, Haig AJ, Roth RS, Zucker R, Ambroz C, et al. A meta-analytic review of surface electromyography among persons with low back pain and normal, healthy controls. J Pain 2005;6(11):711-26.

Delpierre Y, Ritz M, Garnier C. Preliminary clusters analysis based on functional disability scales for chronic Low Back Pain. Kinematic and EMG differences. Comput Methods Biomech Biomed Engin 2017;20(sup1):55-6. doi:10.1080/10255842.2017.1382858.

Rutkowska-Kucharska A, Szpala A. The use of electromyography and magnetic resonance imaging to evaluate a core strengthening exercise programme. J Back Musculoskelet Rehabil 2018;31(2):355-62. doi: 10.3233/BMR-169780.

Zanoni CT, Galvão F, Cliquet Junior A, Saad ST. Pilot randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effect of aquatic and land physical therapy on musculoskeletal dysfunction of sickle cell disease patients. Rev Bras Hematol Hemoter 2015;37(2):82-9. doi: 10.1016/j.bjhh.2014.11.010.

Shair EF, Ahmad SA, Marhaban MH, Mohd Tamrin SB, Abdullah AR. EMG Processing Based Measures of Fatigue Assessment during Manual Lifting. Biomed Res Int 2017;2017:3937254. doi: 10.1155/2017/3937254.

Trimble MH, Enoka RM. Mechanisms underlying the training effects associated with neuromuscular electrical stimulation. Phys Ther 1991;71(4):273-80.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.21164/pomjlifesci.724

Copyright (c) 2020 Aleksandra Radecka, Anna Lubkowska

License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/pl/