Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:30:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2011-09-15Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:21:20Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 melo_sg_dr_rcla.pdf: 609577 bytes, checksum: a9d51fbcdf884c8d8bd0fca73bb98fef (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / A fadiga muscular é definida como a incapacidade que o músculo esquelético tem de gerar ou manter elevados níveis de força e potência muscular durante determinado tempo. Ela pode está associada a exercícios submáximos e/ou máximos, respondendo com diminuição da velocidade de contração das fibras musculares e aumento do tempo de relaxamento da musculatura trabalhada. Muitos estudos têm utilizado a eletromiografia de superfície (EMGs) para caracterizar a fadiga pelo aumento induzido da amplitude do sinal EMG, assim como investigar os mecanismos fisiológicos e biomecânicos associados ao processo de instalação da fadiga neuromuscular. O objetivo desse estudo foi analisar metodologias empregadas na determinação do limiar eletromiográfico na fadiga muscular (LFEMG), visando a comparação entre os métodos quanto a capacidade de determinar um índice de limiar anaeróbio eletromiográfico fidedigno. Participaram da pesquisa 10 jogadores amadores de futsal com médias de idade 20,8 anos, massa corpórea de 67,3kg e estatura de 1,75m. Executaram um protocolo incremental de corrida em esteira para análise do LFEMG. Foi utilizada a eletromiografia de superfície para músculos do membro inferior e coletados dados como amplitude do sinal e frequência mediana. Posteriormente os dados relativos à eletromiografia foram verificados quanto à normalidade (Shapiro-Wilk) e analisados (ANOVA) através do software SPSS. Os resultados confirmam a proposta de que o limiar de fadiga neuromuscular pode ser identificado por meio da análise do comportamento do sinal eletromiográfico durante o protocolo incremental de corrida, como observado em estudos anteriores, e que os métodos pesquisados não apresentam diferenças estatisticamente significativas entre eles, contudo necessitam-se padrões metodológicos mais confiáveis e reprodutíveis para determinação de índices de fadiga neuromuscular através da análise do sinal EMG / Muscle fatigue is defined as the inability the skeletal muscle has to generate or maintain high levels of muscle strength and power during a given time. It can submaximal exercise be associated with and / or maximum response with a decrease in speed of contraction of muscle fibers and increased time of relaxation of the muscles worked. Many studies have used surface electromyography (EMG) to characterize the fatigue induced by the increase of the amplitude of the EMG signal as well as investigate the physiological and biomechanical mechanisms associated with the installation process of neuromuscular fatigue. The aim of this study was to analyze the methodologies used in determining the electromyographic fatigue threshold (FTEMG) in order to compare the methods for their ability to determine an reliable index of anaerobic threshold electromyographic. 10 players of amateur soccer participated in the research with average age 20.8 years, body mass index of 67.3 kg and height 1.75 m. They performed an incremental protocol of treadmill running for FTEMG analysis. We used surface electromyography to lower limb muscles and collected as signal amplitude and median frequency. Subsequently, data were normalized relative to the electromyography (Shapiro-Wilk) analyzed (ANOVA) by SPSS software. The results confirm the proposal that the neuromuscular fatigue threshold can be identified by analyzing the behavior of electromyographic signals during incremental running protocol, as observed in previous studies, and that the methods surveyed have no statistically significant differences between them, however, more reliable and methodological standards for reproducible determination of indices of neuromuscular fatigue by EMG signal analysis are required

Recently, it has been postulated that fatigue is a mechanism to protect the muscle fiber from deleterious ATP depletion and cell death. The ATP-sensitive potassium (KATP) channel is believed to play a major role in this mechanism. Under metabolic stress, the channels open, reducing membrane excitability, Ca2+ release and force production. This alleviates energy demand within the fiber, as activation of the channel reduces ATP consumption from cellular ATPases. Loss of KATP channel activity during fatigue results in excessive intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) levels, likely entering the fiber through L-type Ca2+ channels. It has been demonstrated that when mouse muscle lacking functional KATP channels are stimulated to fatigue, ATP levels become significantly lower than wild type levels. Thus, it was hypothesized that a lack of KATP channel activity impairs energy metabolism, resulting in insufficient ATP production. The focus of work for this M.Sc. project was to test this hypothesis. Fatigue was elicited in Kir6.2-/- FDB muscles for three min followed by 15 min recovery. After 60 sec, a 2.6-fold greater glycogen breakdown was observed in Kir6.2-/- FDB compared to wild type FDB. However, this effect disappeared thereafter, as there were no longer any differences between wild type and Kir6.2-/- FDB in glycogen breakdown by 180 sec. Glucose oxidation after 60 sec was also greater in Kir6.2-/- FDB compared to wild type FDB. However, levels of oxidation failed to increase in Kir6.2-/- FDB from 60 to 180 sec. Calculated ATP production during the fatigue period was 2.7-times greater in Kir6.2-/- FDB, yet measured ATP levels during fatigue are much lower in Kir6.2-/- FDB compared to wild type FDB. Taken together, it appears that muscle energy metabolism is impaired in the absence KATP channel activity.

This thesis investigates the differential effects of muscle fatigue on center of pressure (COP) sway and associated central processes (attentional demands and sensory re-weighting) in older compared with young adults. More specifically, we first sought to determine whether the effect of muscle fatigue on unipedal stance was greater during a dual-task in older versus young adults, and second, to determine whether the effect of muscle fatigue on bipedal stance was greater in a condition with less reliable proprioceptive information in older versus young adults. Our main results show that with different muscle groups fatigued (ankle or hip) and postural tasks with varying difficulty (unipedal stance or bipedal stance on compliant surface), young adults increased their COP sway displacement and velocity with muscle fatigue, but not the associated attentional demands. When the central nervous system needed to increase the weight of the vestibular inputs due to sensory information being less reliable at the ankle joints from standing on a compliant surface (peripheral somatosensory information), COP sway displacement and velocity in young adults were greater with ankle muscle fatigue. We also found that healthy older adults were able to compensate for muscle fatigue just as well as young adults when visual information was available during a unipedal stance or when visual information was not available during a bipedal stance on a firm surface. However, when standing on a compliant surface, older adults showed a greater increase in COP sway displacement compared to young adults and increased attentional demands when visual information was not available during a bipedal stance. Our results suggest that healthy young and older adults are able to compensate for ankle muscle fatigue to limit postural control alterations during quiet standing under different conditions, and that the extent of postural control alterations largely depends on the tasks performed. The compensation strategies may be less efficient for older adults with less reliable proprioceptive information and without vision. Thus, a frailer group of older adults, with already reduced proprioception and/or reduced vision could possibly have more difficulty to efficiently use the same compensation strategies, and may be more at risk of falling when fatigued.

Many industrial workplaces involve tasks that require work to be performed in overhead postures. Epidemiological evidence suggests that working in these unavoidable, awkward postures leads to development of shoulder fatigue, pain and several musculoskeletal disorders. The accumulation of localized muscle fatigue has been strongly associated with the development of work-related musculoskeletal injuries (Armstrong et al., 1993). In order to prevent injury, minimizing muscular fatigue during short-cycled, repetitive work through different work organization schemes has been suggested (Dempsey et al., 2010). Previous research has examined the interactive effect of altering contraction level, duty cycle and cycle times on shoulder muscle fatigue. However, isolation of one factor while maintaining a constant workload has not been examined for overhead work tasks. The purpose of the study was to determine whether cycle time affected the progression of fatigue at the shoulder since the postural load during overhead tasks is inherently fatiguing. Ten university aged females performed a task rotation between an intermittent overhead pressing task and a neutrally located assembly task. Four conditions were defined by cycle time (15s, 30s, 60s and 120s) and each cycle consisted of one complete rotation. In order to quantify the progression of fatigue over time, four dependant measures were systematically collected for all conditions until exhaustion or to a maximum of three hours. These included root mean square (RMS) amplitude and median power frequency (MdPF) calculated from surface electromyography of nine muscles surrounding the shoulder, static strength capability, and rating of perceived exertion. Endurance time was also included as a fifth measure of fatigue. Linear regression was used to determine the slope of static strength and perceived exertion over time, and magnitude changes over normalized time were calculated for EMG measures. For all dependant measures, repeated measures ANOVA were used to identify significant differences across conditions. As the only independent factor investigated, cycle time influenced two out of the five dependent measures. Conditions induced differences in endurance time (F[3,24]=3.96, p=0.02) and RMS amplitude of the middle (F[24,189]=3.10, p<0.0001) and posterior deltoid (F[24,189]=2.52, p=0.0003). Performing overhead work in long cycles (120s) induced a shorter average endurance time (118.67min), and the shortest cycle time (15s) resulted in a longer average endurance time (152.44min). Over time, the rate of increase in RMS amplitude of both deltoid muscles was higher when working at the longest cycle time (120s). Although six muscles showed an indication of fatigue through significant decreases in MdPF in at least one condition, cycle time did not affect MdPF over time for any muscle examined. Similarly, the rate of static strength capability and rating of perceived exertion over time were not affected by cycle time. Two of five measures indicated that cycle time played a significant role in fatigue progression, making its effectiveness as a work organizational method for overhead work tasks unclear. Results indicate that that intermittent overhead work should be performed in shorter cycles to reduce the risk of shoulder injury. Identifying additional effects of cycle time on fatigue measures through increasing statistical power would provide ergonomists with more confidence in recommending this organizational strategy to mitigate the risk of musculoskeletal injury.

This thesis investigates the differential effects of muscle fatigue on center of pressure (COP) sway and associated central processes (attentional demands and sensory re-weighting) in older compared with young adults. More specifically, we first sought to determine whether the effect of muscle fatigue on unipedal stance was greater during a dual-task in older versus young adults, and second, to determine whether the effect of muscle fatigue on bipedal stance was greater in a condition with less reliable proprioceptive information in older versus young adults. Our main results show that with different muscle groups fatigued (ankle or hip) and postural tasks with varying difficulty (unipedal stance or bipedal stance on compliant surface), young adults increased their COP sway displacement and velocity with muscle fatigue, but not the associated attentional demands. When the central nervous system needed to increase the weight of the vestibular inputs due to sensory information being less reliable at the ankle joints from standing on a compliant surface (peripheral somatosensory information), COP sway displacement and velocity in young adults were greater with ankle muscle fatigue. We also found that healthy older adults were able to compensate for muscle fatigue just as well as young adults when visual information was available during a unipedal stance or when visual information was not available during a bipedal stance on a firm surface. However, when standing on a compliant surface, older adults showed a greater increase in COP sway displacement compared to young adults and increased attentional demands when visual information was not available during a bipedal stance. Our results suggest that healthy young and older adults are able to compensate for ankle muscle fatigue to limit postural control alterations during quiet standing under different conditions, and that the extent of postural control alterations largely depends on the tasks performed. The compensation strategies may be less efficient for older adults with less reliable proprioceptive information and without vision. Thus, a frailer group of older adults, with already reduced proprioception and/or reduced vision could possibly have more difficulty to efficiently use the same compensation strategies, and may be more at risk of falling when fatigued.

Recently, it has been postulated that fatigue is a mechanism to protect the muscle fiber from deleterious ATP depletion and cell death. The ATP-sensitive potassium (KATP) channel is believed to play a major role in this mechanism. Under metabolic stress, the channels open, reducing membrane excitability, Ca2+ release and force production. This alleviates energy demand within the fiber, as activation of the channel reduces ATP consumption from cellular ATPases. Loss of KATP channel activity during fatigue results in excessive intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) levels, likely entering the fiber through L-type Ca2+ channels. It has been demonstrated that when mouse muscle lacking functional KATP channels are stimulated to fatigue, ATP levels become significantly lower than wild type levels. Thus, it was hypothesized that a lack of KATP channel activity impairs energy metabolism, resulting in insufficient ATP production. The focus of work for this M.Sc. project was to test this hypothesis. Fatigue was elicited in Kir6.2-/- FDB muscles for three min followed by 15 min recovery. After 60 sec, a 2.6-fold greater glycogen breakdown was observed in Kir6.2-/- FDB compared to wild type FDB. However, this effect disappeared thereafter, as there were no longer any differences between wild type and Kir6.2-/- FDB in glycogen breakdown by 180 sec. Glucose oxidation after 60 sec was also greater in Kir6.2-/- FDB compared to wild type FDB. However, levels of oxidation failed to increase in Kir6.2-/- FDB from 60 to 180 sec. Calculated ATP production during the fatigue period was 2.7-times greater in Kir6.2-/- FDB, yet measured ATP levels during fatigue are much lower in Kir6.2-/- FDB compared to wild type FDB. Taken together, it appears that muscle energy metabolism is impaired in the absence KATP channel activity.

Many industrial workplaces involve tasks that require work to be performed in overhead postures. Epidemiological evidence suggests that working in these unavoidable, awkward postures leads to development of shoulder fatigue, pain and several musculoskeletal disorders. The accumulation of localized muscle fatigue has been strongly associated with the development of work-related musculoskeletal injuries (Armstrong et al., 1993). In order to prevent injury, minimizing muscular fatigue during short-cycled, repetitive work through different work organization schemes has been suggested (Dempsey et al., 2010). Previous research has examined the interactive effect of altering contraction level, duty cycle and cycle times on shoulder muscle fatigue. However, isolation of one factor while maintaining a constant workload has not been examined for overhead work tasks. The purpose of the study was to determine whether cycle time affected the progression of fatigue at the shoulder since the postural load during overhead tasks is inherently fatiguing. Ten university aged females performed a task rotation between an intermittent overhead pressing task and a neutrally located assembly task. Four conditions were defined by cycle time (15s, 30s, 60s and 120s) and each cycle consisted of one complete rotation. In order to quantify the progression of fatigue over time, four dependant measures were systematically collected for all conditions until exhaustion or to a maximum of three hours. These included root mean square (RMS) amplitude and median power frequency (MdPF) calculated from surface electromyography of nine muscles surrounding the shoulder, static strength capability, and rating of perceived exertion. Endurance time was also included as a fifth measure of fatigue. Linear regression was used to determine the slope of static strength and perceived exertion over time, and magnitude changes over normalized time were calculated for EMG measures. For all dependant measures, repeated measures ANOVA were used to identify significant differences across conditions. As the only independent factor investigated, cycle time influenced two out of the five dependent measures. Conditions induced differences in endurance time (F[3,24]=3.96, p=0.02) and RMS amplitude of the middle (F[24,189]=3.10, p<0.0001) and posterior deltoid (F[24,189]=2.52, p=0.0003). Performing overhead work in long cycles (120s) induced a shorter average endurance time (118.67min), and the shortest cycle time (15s) resulted in a longer average endurance time (152.44min). Over time, the rate of increase in RMS amplitude of both deltoid muscles was higher when working at the longest cycle time (120s). Although six muscles showed an indication of fatigue through significant decreases in MdPF in at least one condition, cycle time did not affect MdPF over time for any muscle examined. Similarly, the rate of static strength capability and rating of perceived exertion over time were not affected by cycle time. Two of five measures indicated that cycle time played a significant role in fatigue progression, making its effectiveness as a work organizational method for overhead work tasks unclear. Results indicate that that intermittent overhead work should be performed in shorter cycles to reduce the risk of shoulder injury. Identifying additional effects of cycle time on fatigue measures through increasing statistical power would provide ergonomists with more confidence in recommending this organizational strategy to mitigate the risk of musculoskeletal injury.

Thesis (doctoral)--Lund University, 1994. / Added t.p. with thesis statement inserted.

Thesis (doctoral)--Lund University, 1994. / Added t.p. with thesis statement inserted.

Orientador: Mauro Gonçalves / Banca: Adalgiso Coscrato Cardozo / Banca: Luis Mochizuki / Banca: Rubens Corrêa Araujo / Banca: Ulysses Fernandes Ervilha / Resumo: A fadiga muscular é definida como a incapacidade que o músculo esquelético tem de gerar ou manter elevados níveis de força e potência muscular durante determinado tempo. Ela pode está associada a exercícios submáximos e/ou máximos, respondendo com diminuição da velocidade de contração das fibras musculares e aumento do tempo de relaxamento da musculatura trabalhada. Muitos estudos têm utilizado a eletromiografia de superfície (EMGs) para caracterizar a fadiga pelo aumento induzido da amplitude do sinal EMG, assim como investigar os mecanismos fisiológicos e biomecânicos associados ao processo de instalação da fadiga neuromuscular. O objetivo desse estudo foi analisar metodologias empregadas na determinação do limiar eletromiográfico na fadiga muscular (LFEMG), visando a comparação entre os métodos quanto a capacidade de determinar um índice de limiar anaeróbio eletromiográfico fidedigno. Participaram da pesquisa 10 jogadores amadores de futsal com médias de idade 20,8 anos, massa corpórea de 67,3kg e estatura de 1,75m. Executaram um protocolo incremental de corrida em esteira para análise do LFEMG. Foi utilizada a eletromiografia de superfície para músculos do membro inferior e coletados dados como amplitude do sinal e frequência mediana. Posteriormente os dados relativos à eletromiografia foram verificados quanto à normalidade (Shapiro-Wilk) e analisados (ANOVA) através do software SPSS. Os resultados confirmam a proposta de que o limiar de fadiga neuromuscular pode ser identificado por meio da análise do comportamento do sinal eletromiográfico durante o protocolo incremental de corrida, como observado em estudos anteriores, e que os métodos pesquisados não apresentam diferenças estatisticamente significativas entre eles, contudo necessitam-se padrões metodológicos mais confiáveis e reprodutíveis para determinação de índices de fadiga neuromuscular através da análise do sinal EMG / Abstract: Muscle fatigue is defined as the inability the skeletal muscle has to generate or maintain high levels of muscle strength and power during a given time. It can submaximal exercise be associated with and / or maximum response with a decrease in speed of contraction of muscle fibers and increased time of relaxation of the muscles worked. Many studies have used surface electromyography (EMG) to characterize the fatigue induced by the increase of the amplitude of the EMG signal as well as investigate the physiological and biomechanical mechanisms associated with the installation process of neuromuscular fatigue. The aim of this study was to analyze the methodologies used in determining the electromyographic fatigue threshold (FTEMG) in order to compare the methods for their ability to determine an reliable index of anaerobic threshold electromyographic. 10 players of amateur soccer participated in the research with average age 20.8 years, body mass index of 67.3 kg and height 1.75 m. They performed an incremental protocol of treadmill running for FTEMG analysis. We used surface electromyography to lower limb muscles and collected as signal amplitude and median frequency. Subsequently, data were normalized relative to the electromyography (Shapiro-Wilk) analyzed (ANOVA) by SPSS software. The results confirm the proposal that the neuromuscular fatigue threshold can be identified by analyzing the behavior of electromyographic signals during incremental running protocol, as observed in previous studies, and that the methods surveyed have no statistically significant differences between them, however, more reliable and methodological standards for reproducible determination of indices of neuromuscular fatigue by EMG signal analysis are required / Doutor