Impact of repetitive mouse aiming on muscle fatigue and fine motor performance of the distal upper limb

Abstract

Gaming is demanding, however, the impact of gaming on muscle fatigue and performance changes is unclear. The purpose of this study was to evaluate muscle fatigue and performance impairments during an extended mouse aiming fatigue protocol. Twenty participants were recruited (8F, 12 M), separated into gaming and non-gaming groups. Surface electromyography was measured from eight muscles of the right distal upper limb. Participants performed a 30-second aiming task using aim training software. The fatiguing protocol involved six, 5-minute bouts of hitting targets in AimLab. To assess muscle fatigue, reference contractions of radial and ulnar deviation (30% max) as well as ratings of perceived fatigue (RPF) were collected throughout the experiment. The wrist extensors produced the greatest levels of muscle activity while aiming a mouse, producing up to 9.3% MVC. No changes in performance measures were observed throughout the experiment. However, significant fatigue of extensors was observed through changes in RPF, mean power frequency, median frequency, and spike shape analysis. Performance metrics indicated no impairments caused by the fatiguing protocol. Changes in EMG characteristics indicate that the wrist extensors became significantly fatigued through prolonged mouse aiming, indicating the extensors may be prone to gaming related fatigue and injury.