Clinical Applications of Mechanomyography: Technical Brief (Clinician's Corner) (Report‪)‬

INTRODUCTION Historically, the best tool available to the clinician for examining muscle activity has been electromyography (EMG). EMG records the electrical activity in contracting skeletal muscle (15). The technique, familiar to most clinicians, involves the placement of surface electrodes on the skin (SEMG; e.g., pre-gelled Ag/AgCl electrodes) or needle electrodes inserted through the skin directly into the muscle and a reference (ground) electrode placed some distance from the active (recording) electrodes on electrically neutral tissues (e.g., a bone) (15). The electrical signal is then amplified, recorded, and stored on a computer for further processing (e.g., filtering and rectifying) and analysis. The technique of SEMG is beyond the scope of this paper. For the reader desiring more information on the topic, De Luca (14, 15) provides thorough reviews of the technical issues involved with SEMG.