EMG trapezius muscle activity pattern in string players: Part II-Influences of basic body awareness therapy on the violin playing technique [An ... Journal of Industrial Ergonomics]

EMG trapezius muscle activity pattern in string players: Part II-Influences of basic body awareness therapy on the violin playing technique [An ... Journal of Industrial Ergonomics] Review

This digital document is a journal article from International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, published by Elsevier in 2004. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
This study used electromyography (EMG) to investigate if violinists could play with a greater variation in the trapezius muscle activity pattern after an 8-week training program with Basic Body Awareness Therapy (Basic BAT), as compared with a reference group. Five professional orchestra violinists who trained Basic BAT were compared to nine violinists working as violin teachers or music students at higher education level who did not take part in any training. The trapezius muscle activity, while playing a piece of music, was monitored by bilateral surface EMG before and after the 8-week training period. Exposure Variation Analysis (EVA) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) were used for the EMG analyses. No significant differences were found in the trapezius muscle activation between the Basic BAT-trained group and the reference group. The training group perceived positive changes in breathing, muscular tension, postural control and concentration mainly during practice sessions. Musicians might benefit from practicing warming up, taking regular pauses to recover and proper working technique in activities other than playing an instrument. Relevance to industry: Proper work technique, work postures and movements are important to prevent neck and shoulder problems. This study shows a pedagogical approach to modify posture and bodily reactions during work tasks.

EMG trapezius muscle activity pattern in string players: Part II-Influences of basic body awareness therapy on the violin playing technique [An article ... Journal of Industrial Ergonomics]

EMG trapezius muscle activity pattern in string players: Part II-Influences of basic body awareness therapy on the violin playing technique [An article ... Journal of Industrial Ergonomics] Review

This digital document is a journal article from International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, published by Elsevier in 2004. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
This study used electromyography (EMG) to investigate if violinists could play with a greater variation in the trapezius muscle activity pattern after an 8-week training program with Basic Body Awareness Therapy (Basic BAT), as compared with a reference group. Five professional orchestra violinists who trained Basic BAT were compared to nine violinists working as violin teachers or music students at higher education level who did not take part in any training. The trapezius muscle activity, while playing a piece of music, was monitored by bilateral surface EMG before and after the 8-week training period. Exposure Variation Analysis (EVA) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) were used for the EMG analyses. No significant differences were found in the trapezius muscle activation between the Basic BAT-trained group and the reference group. The training group perceived positive changes in breathing, muscular tension, postural control and concentration mainly during practice sessions. Musicians might benefit from practicing warming up, taking regular pauses to recover and proper working technique in activities other than playing an instrument. Relevance to industry: Proper work technique, work postures and movements are important to prevent neck and shoulder problems. This study shows a pedagogical approach to modify posture and bodily reactions during work tasks.

Mechanical load and EMG activity in the neck induced by different head-worn equipment and neck postures [An article from: International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics]

Mechanical load and EMG activity in the neck induced by different head-worn equipment and neck postures [An article from: International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics] Review

This digital document is a journal article from International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, published by Elsevier in 2005. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
Background: When working in darkness, helicopter pilots often use night vision goggles (NVG) and a counterweight (CW) attached to the helmet. In addition, missions also entail whole-body vibration and ergonomically unfavorable neck and body postures. The present aim was to assess the mechanical load and compare it with previously published data comprising recordings of muscle activity induced by different head-worn equipment used by helicopter pilots. Methods: Activity in left upper and lower dorsal neck muscles was recorded in 14 Swedish helicopter pilots, using electromyography (EMG) when wearing (i) helmet, (ii) helmet and NVG, and (iii) helmet, NVG and CW in a laboratory setting. The activity was recorded in a random order with the head in neutral position and at 20^o neck flexion. The induced load for the cervical spine in these conditions was calculated using a sagittal, static, biomechanical model. Results: The induced flexing load moment and muscle activity increased with the NVG and decreased from that level with the CW. However, the magnitude of the induced load was higher than the muscle activity indicated, especially when related to maximum strength. Conclusion: At low loads, as apparent in the present study, substantial increases in induced load moment are entailed, with only a comparatively small increase in neck-muscle activation levels. This must be considered when using EMG in the assessment of work load and in ergonomic interventions. Relevance to industry: As EMG is a common method of assessing excessive muscle activity as a sign of workload exposure, it is essential to note the non-linear relation between the neck-muscle activity and the induced flexing load moment caused by head-worn equipment.

EMG trapezius muscle activity pattern in string players: [An article from: International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics]

EMG trapezius muscle activity pattern in string players: [An article from: International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics] Review

This digital document is a journal article from International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, published by Elsevier in 2004. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
Work related neck and shoulder disorders are a great problem for string musicians. A playing technique with more relaxed muscles and a greater variation in the muscle activity pattern, i.e., with shorter sequences at a varied number of amplitude levels as reflected by electromyography (EMG), might prevent pain. This study used EMG to study variations in the trapezius muscle activity pattern in 12 string musicians performing a piece of music at two playing sessions separated by a ten-week interval. Nine of the string musicians played violin, two viola and one cello. Exposure variation analysis and principal component analysis were used for analysis of the EMG. The trapezius muscle activity pattern was similar in the first and second playing sessions showing that each musician repeated his/her own muscular activity pattern. However, there was considerable variability in the muscle activity pattern between cello, violin and viola players and between individual violin players. Thus, this EMG method has the potential to identify variations and reproducibility of trapezius muscle activity in string musicians. This method may be used to analyse individual differences when performing a musical work task and to evaluate intervention studies. Relevance to industry: Intervention studies on muscle activity pattern which try to change the work technique need to be evaluated.

Distinction between computer workers with and without work-related neck-shoulder complaints based on multiple surface EMG parameters [An article from: International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics]

Distinction between computer workers with and without work-related neck-shoulder complaints based on multiple surface EMG parameters [An article from: International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics] Review

This digital document is a journal article from International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, published by Elsevier in 2006. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
The aim of this study was to investigate whether it is possible to distinguish between computer workers with (cases) and without (controls) work-related neck-shoulder complaints by combining multiple surface electromyography (EMG) parameters in a logistic regression model. Fourteen controls and 13 cases performed five tasks: a unilateral dynamic hand task, a typing task, an editing task, a mouse task and a stress task. EMG of the trapezius muscle was measured using multi-channel electrode arrays. Root-mean-square value and median power frequency, the number of motor unit action potentials (MUAPs) per second and MUAP shape properties were assessed. Logistic regression models were developed for each task with data from ten controls and nine cases. The mouse task resulted in the most discriminative model with correct classification of 89% (jackknife evaluation). MUAP-related parameters were selected as most discriminative. Explorative evaluation with the remaining subjects resulted in a sensitivity and specificity of 3 out of 4 in both groups. In conclusion, a combination of multiple surface EMG parameters was capable of distinguishing computer workers with and without neck-shoulder complaints in a small pilot sample. Relevance to industry: The results are promising for development of an objective assessment method that can identify workers who are at risk to develop chronic neck-shoulder complaints.