Standardised surface electromyography allows effective submental muscles assessment

Abstract

The aims of this pilot study were to evaluate: (i) the reproducibility and variability of an electromyographical protocol developed for the assessment of submental muscles (SM) (ii) to apply the new protocol to maximal teeth clenching, a simple and largely studied static task in order to quantify the relative contribution of submental muscles. In 20 healthy subjects, aged 19-35years, surface electromyography of SM, masseter (MM) and anterior temporalis (TA) muscles was performed during maximal voluntary clenching (MVC) with and without cotton rolls and the pushing of the tongue against the palate. Clenching on cotton rolls and pushing the tongue against the palate were used to standardise respectively MM and TA, and SM muscular potentials. The exercises were repeated in two appointments (T1-T2); submental muscles standardisation was also repeated twice (A-B) in each session to assess repeatability. Symmetry and activity were calculated for each couple of muscles. A two-way analysis of variance was computed for SM: no Factor 1 (T1 vs T2) or Factor 2 (A vs B) or F1×F2 significant effects were found. SM recruitment was 31% of the maximal activity, with symmetry values larger than 80%. In conclusion, standardised electromyography allows a reliable assessment of Submental muscles activity.

Preliminary approach for the surface electromyographical evaluation of the oral phase of swallowing

“…Standardised surface electromyographical protocols during clenching and chewing have been studied and accepted by the scientific literature as a useful tool to evaluate the superficial jaw closing and opening muscles (TA, MM, SM) activity, and therefore, they have entered daily clinical practice . On the contrary, the ssEMG assessment of swallowing is still an open field of research and further scientific approval is needed before clinical applications…”

“…Submental muscles standardisation procedures: participants were asked to push their tongue to the best of their ability (without teeth clenching) against the palate, and a 5‐seconds sEMG SM activity was recorded. All further SM sEMG potentials were expressed as a percentage of this value (μV/μV × 100) Saliva swallowing: after drinking 20 cc of water, the participants were asked to wait 30 seconds, bring their teeth in contact during swallowing the saliva spontaneously accumulated and keep them in rest position (with no occlusal contacts) at the end; a 5‐seconds sEMG activity was recorded.…”

“…It has been demonstrated how electromyographic potentials in the muscle groups that are effective in swallowing can work reliably; however for each patient, data collected about function of each muscle during swallowing have not been normalised and related to the maximal potential voluntary activation of that muscle . There have been many controversial opinions on the clinical application of sEMG; both technical and biological factors influence the registered signal and make comparative and longitudinal evaluations difficult to be conducted . However, the use of standardised sEMG (ssEMG) protocols eliminates such factors and makes possible the analysis of data …”

“…Among jaw closing and opening muscles, the MM, the TA and the SM activities have been largely electromyographically studied in maximal voluntary clenching (MVC) and during mastication . The repeatability of standardised protocols for both tasks has been tested and clinical studies have been proposed . For example, the static neuromuscular equilibrium of occlusion in patients treated with stabilisation splint has been verified with a standardised protocol .…”

Análise Eletromiográfica Do Uso De Instrumento Musical De Percussão Na Musicoterapia

“…Como técnica, a eletromiografia consiste na aquisição e tratamento do sinal elétrico produzido na musculatura a partir da estimulação de unidades motoras. Estudos recentes têm utilizado a EMG na avaliação da atividade muscular em situações de isquemia induzida [3,4], das regiões submentais [5], de análise biomecânica, onde é feita a análise de quais músculos são ativados em determinado movimento [6], de pacientes pós AVC [7] e de força [8].…”