Dynamic electromyography

The authors explore the clinical potential and technical limitations of dynamic electromyography (EMG) for the study of muscle function during gait. Dynamic EMG is often recorded with isolated electrodes, thus, providing only a limited picture of the overall muscular electrical activity. In addition, inherent problems such as cross-talk, due to the dispersion of electromyographic signals through tissue by volume conduction, can affect the accuracy of timing and quantification of dynamic EMG signals. Analyzing the functional significance of dynamic EMG activity can be clinically misleading when the data is contaminated by cross-talk or systematic errors due to instrumentation, electrode geometry and displacement. The purpose of this review is to present an overview of the origin, acquisition, and analysis of dynamic EMG. A better understanding of dynamic EMG properties is essential for improved system design and clinical applications.