A study on the generation of kinesthetic illusion, tonic vibration reflex, and antagonist vibratory response in the shoulder joint extension direction by vibration stimulation to the origin and insertion in the biceps brachii muscle

It is known that vibratory stimulation of muscle tendons induces kinesthetic illusions, tonic vibration reflex (TVR) and antagonist vibratory response (AVR). In order to utilize kinesthetic illusion, TVR, and AVR in a wide range of fields, it is necessary to investigate the characteristics of the three phenomena in various joints. In particular, the shoulder joint plays an important role in upper limb motion, and vibration stimulation characteristics in the shoulder joint extension direction have not yet been quantitatively evaluated. In this study, by applying vibration stimulation to the tendon of origin in biceps brachii long head and tendon of insertion in biceps brachii muscle, a multi-articular muscle, the amount of kinesthetic illusion, TVR and AVR in the shoulder joint extension direction are compared in each frequency. The experimental results shows that the kinesthetic illusion is generated not only in the tendon of origin but also in the tendon of insertion by the vibration stimulus. Also, the stimulation to the tendon of origin induces TVR at 100–120 Hz, but the vibration stimulation to the tendon of insertion does not at any used frequency range. Finally, it was found that vibratory stimulation to the tendon of insertion produced more AVR than vibratory stimulation to the tendon of origin. The results of this study provide the necessary knowledge to control artificial sensation and motion compensation in the shoulder joint extension direction.