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Objective The effects of diverse periodic interventions on trapezius muscle fatigue and activity during a full day of computer work were investigated. Background Musculoskeletal disorders, including trapezius myalgia, may be associated with repeated exposure to prolonged low-level activity, even during light upper-extremity tasks including computer work. Methods Thirty healthy adults participated in a study that simulated two 6-hour workdays of computer work. One workday involved imposed periodic passive and active interventions aimed at disrupting trapezius contraction monotony (Intervention day), whereas the other workday did not (Control day). Trapezius muscle activity was quantified by the 3-dimensional acceleration of the jolt movement of the acromion produced by electrically induced muscle twitches. The spatio-temporal distribution of trapezius activity was measured through high-density surface electromyography (HD-EMG). Results The twitch acceleration magnitude in one direction was significantly different across measurement periods ( p = 0.0156) on Control day, whereas no significant differences in any direction were observed ( p > 0.05) on Intervention day. The HD-EMG from Intervention day showed that only significant voluntary muscle contractions (swing arms, Jacobson maneuver) induced a decrease in the muscle activation time and an increase in the spatial muscle activation areas ( p < 0.01). Conclusion Disruption of trapezius monotonous activity via brief voluntary contractions effectively modified the ensuing contraction pattern (twitch acceleration along one axis, active epochs reduction, and larger spatial distribution). The observed changes support an associated reduction of muscle fatigue. Application This study suggests that disruptive intervention activity is efficient in reducing the impact of trapezius muscle fatigue.

III.

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While stroke survivors with moderate or mild impairment are typically able to open their hand at will, those with severe impairment cannot. Abnormal synergies govern the arm and hand in stoke survivors with severe impairment, so hand opening, which is required to overcome the working synergy, is an extremely difficult task for them to achieve. It is universally accepted that alternative tracts including the cortico-reticulospinal tract (CRST), employed in the case that the corticospinal tract (CST) is damaged by stroke, brings about such abnormal synergies. Here we note that hand closing is enabled by alternative tracts as well as the CST, and a research question arises: Does motor characteristics while closing the hand depend on the integrity of the CST? In this study, we evaluate the abilities of 17 stroke survivors to flex and relax the metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joints and investigate whether motor characteristics can be distinguished based on CST integrity which is estimated using upper-extremity Fugl-Meyer (UEFM) scores. UEFM scores have been perceived as an indirect indicator of CST integrity. We found that participants with the UEFM score above a certain value, who are assumed to use the CST, moves the MCP joints more smoothly (P < 0.05) and activates the flexors to flex the joints faster (P < 0.05), in comparison to participants with low UEFM scores, who are assumed to preferentially use alternative tracts. The results imply that use of alternative tracts (i.e. the CRST) results in a degradation in movement smoothness and slow activation of MCP flexors. We present evidence that responses of flexors of the MCP joints following stroke depend on the degree of impairment which is hypothesized to originate from preferentially use of different neural motor pathways.