This thesis explores the relationship between electromyography (EMG) and thermography in monitoring muscle activity and the thermal response of the quadriceps femoris muscle during exercise on a knee extension machine. The study's main objective was to determine whether there is a correlation between muscle activation and skin heating during exercise.
The experiment was conducted using surface EMG and a thermal camera. Sets of 15 knee extensions with varying loads (70%, 50%, 20%) were measured in that order, based on a one-repetition maximum used as a reference to calculate the loads. Muscle activity was analyzed using EMG RMS, while temperature changes were recorded as an average over a specific region of interest (ROI = 8800 pixels) on the skin surface of the thigh using the thermal camera.
The theoretical part provides an overview of the history and development of EMG, the anatomy of the quadriceps femoris muscle, the functionality of thermal cameras, and methods of EMG signal analysis. The experimental section details the measurement procedures, electrode placement, software usage (AcqKnowledge and FLIR ResearchIR Max), and interpretation of the results.
The results showed that EMG signal amplitude increased with load. Thermographic analysis confirmed local heating of the muscle during prolonged activity, indicating a correlation between muscular effort and thermal response. A functional dependence of EMG on load was established EMG RMS = 0,352 * load + 0,1083 mV. Functional dependence of temperature was established as T = -0,7353 * load + 34,216 ℃.
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