Reliability of quantitative EMG analysis of the extensor carpi radialis muscle

Motor unit loss is accompanied by decreased peak muscle power in the lower limb of older adults

“…Decomposition enhanced spike-triggered averaging (DE-STA) is one technique that has been shown to be well tolerated by subjects and provides a valid and reliable estimate of the number of functioning MUs in a given muscle in both healthy subjects and subjects with neuromuscular disease [9,[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26].…”

Increased motor unit potential shape variability across consecutive motor unit discharges in the tibialis anterior and vastus medialis muscles of healthy older subjects

“…DQEMG has been shown to be a valid and reliable tool for obtaining information regarding MU number, size, and complexity within healthy subjects, as well as from patients with neuromuscular disease and peripheral neuropathy (Boe et al, 2004;McNeil et al, 2005a,b;Boe et al, 2006Boe et al, , 2009Boe et al, , 2010Calder et al, 2008;Berger et al, 2011;Doherty, 2012, 2014;Allen et al, 2013). Using these techniques, we can evaluate the extent of collateral reinnervation following MU loss and the stability of neuromuscular transmission.…”

Techniques and applications of EMG: measuring motor units from structure to function

“…Measures of reproducibility have been carried out and have shown that, although there is variability between muscles, there are high levels of both intra and interobserver reliability in distal muscles such as adductor digiti minimi, adductor hallucis and tibialis anterior using both dQEMG [6,8,50] and MUNE [2,38]. Quantitative EMG appears to be reliable in proximal muscles such as the upper trapezius, but estimates of motor unit number are less reproducible, perhaps reflecting the difficulty with surface electrode placement and ensuring supramaximal stimulation common in studies of proximal muscles [25].…”