In vivo assessment of elbow flexor work and activation during stretch-shortening cycle tasks

The purpose of this study was to use an electromyography (EMG) based muscle model to investigate the performance enhancement of stretch-shortening cycle (SSC) tasks at different elbow flexion–extension velocities. A torque motor was used to oscillate the forearms of seven healthy male subjects (23–40 years) during SSC and non-SSC contractions at four frequencies of movement (.58, 1.5, 2.4 and 3.3 Hz) over a range of 105°–162° of elbow extension. The torque was integrated as a function of joint angle to yield the work produced by the elbow flexors. The elbow flexors were transcutaneously stimulated with a voltage equivalent to 60% maximum voluntary isometric contraction torque for 4 s at 50 Hz. EMG of the elbow flexors and extensors was recorded from the biceps and triceps respectively. The processed EMG was used to drive a Hill based model to predict the torque of the elbow flexors.Results indicate that muscle work increases from non-SSC to SSC trials. Work decreases for SSC and non-SSC trials with increasing velocity. The simulated constant activation muscle model predicted work well for all trials and conditions, indicating muscle model accuracy. The EMG driven model predicted well for all non-SSC trials, but significantly underestimated the work for SSC tasks, suggesting that the contractile component is directly involved in optimising muscle work during SSC tasks.