Analysis of Surface Electromyography Signals in Fatigue Conditions Under Dynamic Contractions Using Time Difference of Muscle Activations

Muscle fatigue is a neuromuscular disease which occurs when the muscles fail to produce the necessary or expected potential, which is the cause for muscular forces. It could be either due to overexertion of the muscles or any excessive repetitive action [1]. It can occur to any subject - both normal as well as abnormal. The most common symptoms of this condition are localized pain, muscle twitching, trembling and muscle cramps. The detection of muscle fatigue can assist in the improvement of the performance in many fields such as clinical diagnosis and sports biomechanics and facilitates in the commercial development of various industries [2], [3]. Analysis of fatigue conditions of a muscle also plays a major role in the rehabilitation processes and kinesiology [4]. The behaviour of sEMG signals is different under non-fatigue and fatigue conditions due to energetic, metabolic, and structural variations in the muscle [5]. Hence, in this work, the differences in the muscle activity under non-fatigue and fatigue conditions as determined from recorded multichannel sEMG signals of biceps brachii and triceps brachii during dynamic contractions are studied.