Skip to main content
Article
Gender Differences in Spectral and Entropic Measures of Erector Spinae Muscle Fatigue
Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development
  • Paul Sung, Cleveland State University
  • Ulrich Zurcher, Cleveland State University
  • Miron Kaufman, Cleveland State University
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2008
Disciplines
Abstract

Electromyographic power spectral analysis is a valuable measurement; however, conflicting results have been reported for amplitude and frequency changes during a fatiguing submaximal muscle contraction. This study compared gender differences for two analyses in subjects with low back pain (LBP). Distinct gender differences are found in musculoskeletal illness/dysfunction, and we examined the effect of gender on entropy and median frequency (MF) slope in a cohort of subjects with LBP. A total of 44 subjects (24 female and 20 male) completed the modified Sorenson test. These subjects ranged in age from 26 to 64 years old, with an average age of 49.9 +/- 9.4 years. Overall, a significant fatigability difference was found based on MF slope (F = 21.33, p = 0.001) and entropy measures (F = 68.26, p = 0.001) of the back muscles. While the MF slope was not different (F = 0.44, p = 0.51) between genders, the entropy values were higher for the male subjects than for the female subjects (F = 6.70, p = 0.01). These results indicate that the Shannon entropy measure differentiates between genders. Further studies are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of using nonlinear analysis as a measurement tool.

DOI
10.1682/JRRD.2007.11.0196
Citation Information
Paul Sung, Ulrich Zurcher and Miron Kaufman. "Gender Differences in Spectral and Entropic Measures of Erector Spinae Muscle Fatigue" Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development Vol. 45 Iss. 9 (2008) p. 1431 - 1439
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/ulrich_zurcher/20/