Effects of Compression Garments on Lower Limb Muscle Activation via Electromyography Analysis during Running

Sports compression garments are common-selected sportswear to improve athletic performance and reduce sports injury. Since they consist of elastic textile that exerts compression and pressure onto the muscle,muscle activation is of interest to sports compression garment manufactures who seek to enhance sports performance through gradient compression garment design.However,there are few scientific investigations to explore this effect of muscle activation to evaluate the performance of sports compression garments during sport activity. In this paper, a systemic experimental protocol was presented to improve the quality of evaluation test under a standardized running test. Then muscle activation with and without wearing sport compression garments to highlight the changes caused by compression garment was investigated. The electromyography( EMG) signal was collected and processed by the proposed method to represent the muscle activation combined with gait analysis of running. As a result,the average muscle activation of gait cycle for the major muscles such as rectus femoris( RF) and gastrocnemius medialis( GM) revealed that they needed to exert more muscle force without wearing garment at certain periods for mid-stand and pre-swing phase within gait cycle. These lower muscle activation levels prolonged activity duration,reduced fatigue,and presented low risk for sport injury.Such an evaluation study therefore would scientifically prove the effect of compression garment and provide information on muscle activation and the ergonomic efficacy of gradient compression garment design.

Effects of compression garments on surface EMG and physiological responses during and after distance running

Background:The few previous studies that focused on the effects of compression garments(CG)on distance running performance have simultaneously measured electromyogram,physiological,and perceptual parameters.Therefore,this study investigated the effects of CG on muscle activation and median frequency during and after distance running,as well as blood-lactate concentration and rating of perceived exertion(RPE)during distance running.Methods:Eight healthy male recreational runners were recruited to randomly perform two 40 min treadmill running trials,one with CG,and the other with control garment made of normal cloth.The RPE and the surface electromyography(EMG)of 5 lower extremity muscles including gluteus maximus(GM),rectus femoris(RF),semitendinosus(ST),tibialis anterior(TA),and gastrocnemius(GAS)were measured during the running trial.The blood-lactate levels before and after the running trial were measured.Results:Wearing CG led to significant lower muscle activation(p<0.05)in the GM(decreased 7.40%-14.31%),RF(decreased 4.39%-4.76%),and ST(decreased 3.42%-7.20%)muscles;moreover,significant higher median frequency(p<0.05)in the GM(increased 5.57%)and ST(increased 10.58%)muscles.Wearing CG did not alter the RPE values or the blood-lactate levels(p>0.05).Conclusion:Wearing CG was associated with significantly lower muscle activation and higher median frequency in the running-related key muscles during distance running.This finding suggested that wearing CG may improve muscle function,which might enhance running performance and prevent muscle fatigue.