General information on EMG (electromyography) biofeedback training

The musculature of the human being plays an essential role in the body. Our muscles are the largest energy consumer and are responsible for about 70- 80% of our body weight. Muscle activity is manifested along the fibers of a striated muscle in the form of permanent, electrical potential shifts. This electrical activity can be measured at the skin surface in the form of more considerable summation potentials. This form of measurement is called (surface) electromyography, and the result is an electromyogram.

The eSense Muscle can measure and train electromyographic muscle activity and transmit it to your computer/smartphone/tablet via Bluetooth®.

Transverse striated muscles are controlled by our somatic nervous system and are subject to voluntary control. Every volitional action of a muscle can therefore be observed in an electromyogram. Thus, the tension of a muscle on 27 which surface EMG electrodes are placed immediately leads to increased trace in the EMG signal.

However, involuntary reactions, such as stress, inner tension, and emotional experience, can also be measured as (tonic) activity in the EMG. EMG biofeedback can also report back the general psychophysiological tension.

The interplay between the autonomic and somatic nervous systems can be depicted particularly well in the EMG. Increased muscle tone is mainly based on an increase in sympathetic activity. A decrease can be attributed to more robust parasympathetic activation.