Electromyography for assessment of pain in low back muscles.

Background And Purpose: Pain is currently evaluated with "subjective" methods (eg, patient self-report). This study aimed to test whether fatigue indexes are able to accurately discriminate between subjects with and subjects without low back pain.

Subjects: Sixty subjects separated into 2 groups--a group with low back pain (n=30) and a group without low back pain (n=30)--participated in this study.

Comparing the lactate and EMG thresholds of recreational cyclists during incremental pedaling exercise.

The purpose of this study was to determine the validity of using the electromyography (EMG) signal as a noninvasive method of estimating the lactate threshold (LT) power output in recreational cyclists. Using an electromagnetic bicycle ergometer and constant pedaling cadence of 80 rpm, 24 recreational cyclists performed an incremental exercise protocol that consisted of stepwise increases in power output of 25 W every 3 min until exhaustion. The EMG signal was recorded from the right vastus lateralis (VL) and right rectus femoris (RF) throughout the test.