Muscle activity in sprinting: a review

Abstract

The use of electromyography (EMG) is widely recognised as a valuable tool for enhancing the understanding of performance drivers and potential injury risk in sprinting. The timings of muscle activations relative to running gait cycle phases and the technology used to obtain muscle activation data during sprinting are of particular interest to scientists and coaches. This review examined the main muscles being analysed by surface EMG (sEMG), their activations and timing, and the technologies used to gather sEMG during sprinting. Electronic databases were searched using 'Electromyography' OR 'EMG' AND 'running' OR 'sprinting'. Based on inclusion criteria, 18 articles were selected for review. While sEMG is widely used in biomechanics, relatively few studies have used sEMG in sprinting due to system constraints. The results demonstrated a focus on the leg muscles, with over 70% of the muscles analysed in the upper leg. This is consistent with the use of tethered and data logging EMG systems and many sprints being performed on treadmills. Through the recent advances in wireless EMG technology, an increase in the studies on high velocity movements such as sprinting is expected and this should allow practitioners to perform the analysis in an ecologically valid environment.

Surface EMG in Clinical Assessment and Neurorehabilitation: Barriers Limiting Its Use

“…The literature concerning sEMG applications in sports is very extensive and focused on physiology ( 191 , 192 ) training, prevention of injury, and recovery after injury (in particular the anterior cruciate ligament injury ( 193 ). Many sports have been investigated, in particular golf ( 194 ), jumping ( 195 ), cycling ( 196 ), sprinting ( 197 ), volleyball ( 198 ), but also strength training ( 199 , 200 ), back pain in rowers ( 201 ), patellofemoral pain ( 170 , 202 ), and aging ( 59 , 203 ). The distribution of muscle fiber conduction velocity, related to fiber diameter, may provide insight in muscle structure.…”

Can we spread the risk? A demand-share perspective to sustained hamstring health

“…The full sprint gait cycle is typically divided in to two discrete phases: the closed kinetic chain 'stance', an epoch definable as equivalent to ground contact time, and the open kinetic chain 'swing'; representing the time the foot is airborne (Higashihara et al, 2013). Further sub-divisions are often present, highlighting the changing demands of the full cycle (Howard et al, 2018). (see Fig.…”

Tensiomyography Derived Parameters Reflect Skeletal Muscle Architectural Adaptations Following 6-Weeks of Lower Body Resistance Training

“…In order to maximize transfer of strength to performance, closed-chain RT exercises involving similar movement patterns to sporting performance are recommended (Seitz et al, 2014;Burnie et al, 2017). As such, knee extensors are a common focus of RT owing to their involvement in athletic movement patterns (e.g., sprinting and jumping) (Jacobs et al, 1996;Simsek et al, 2016;Howard et al, 2017). Commonly, the efficacy of such RT is commonly measured by 1 maximal repetition (1RM) tests in strength and conditioning settings (Levinger et al, 2009), providing an indication of any change observed in muscle function.…”