Do you have access to cadavers? If so, that would help. Regardless, recruit a physiotherapist/physical therapist to help you with locating the muscles. Electrode pair spacing on a given muscle should be no more than the thickness of the muscle.

Gordon L Warren

Thank you, Professor, for your valuable feedback.

Right now, I don’t have any cadavers. I am also trying to find a physiotherapist for help. I will try to implement the spacing of electrodes in my next Emg readings.

Hi Deepak,

Do you have access to an anatomy textbook? Something like Netter with good visual detail? Palpation is your best bet and yes people come in all shapes and sizes which can make it difficult, but palpation is just like any other skill. With practice, you will get better. Reviewing the origin, insertion and action of the muscle or muscle group you need to isolate will be a benefit. You can then landmark the bony attachments, often easier to find no matter the size or shape of the person. Once you have a general position, gentle, with a broad contact at first, palpate where you think the muscle is, then ask the person to gentle activate the muscle. Get the muscle to do it’s action, the movement under the skin while you palpate can help you identify the correct structure. I hope this helps.

Best,

Christine

Christine Waddell

Thank You, Ma’am, for your valuable feedback.

I got a book on ‘Know the Body: Muscle, Bone, and Palpation Essentials by joseph e. Muscolino’. I am trying to replicate the methods, but I am not sure I am getting good at them. I can locate the FDS muscle primarily, but I am struggling with people with high body fat or low muscle mass. Also, the electrode placement should be at the center of the muscle, so if I cannot place it correctly, the EMG recording suffers.

But I am working on it and trying to get as much knowledge as possible.

Also, can we record the EMG signal of the FDP and FDS muscle simultaneously, like when gripping an object? Because the FDS muscle is located just above the FDP. So is it possible to record the activity of both at the same time?

Hi Deepak,

You can test the correct location electrodes by using TENS. If your electrode is on the FDS muscle only the PIP joint will flex en the DIP is relaxed. If the electrode is on the FDP muscle the DIP joint will also go into flexion. Note that in real life FDS and FDP are not strictly separated due to connective structures and tissues and there is anatomic variation present, especially in FDS of dig V.

Sylvia Pellekooren

Thank you, Professor, for your valuable feedback.

So if I place the electrodes correctly on FDS and FDP muscles, after that, if I go for gripping an object, then in that case both the muscles will activate simultaneously.

Then do the signals get distorted because both muscles produce the signals at the same time?

That's correct, both muscles will be active in grabbing an object. If you would like to differentiate between FDS and FDP you'll need to ask isolated PIP or DIP flexion as you can see in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT0nR5d4Rnk

I'm not sure how this will effect the signals, as I'm not an expert in EMG...

Sylvia Pellekooren

Oh Ok. I understand.

I will continue to study further, and if I discover more about the effect on signals, I will share it with you.

Thank you, Professor; I appreciate your help so much.

https://youtu.be/gpgsR5jcI8M

Maybe this link help you someway

Hi

In my opinion, first of all, it is necessary to consult a physiotherapist or an anatomist to do the work. Accurate diagnosis and differentiation of these two needs attention to the conditions and volume of the tissue in each person. Another method is to use FES or FAR flow, which is in FDS. PIP joints and DIP joints are activated in FDP

Ameen Abed

Thank You Professor for your help.

Abolfazl Faghihi

Thank you Professor for your help.

I will try to include a physiotherapist or a medical person with a good knowledge of muscle physiology in our study.

Thank You.

1.You can palpate FPL lower 1/3rd of over the shaft of radius.

2.FDS can be palpated at the midpoint of the forearm from ventral aspect.

Hello!

Do you have any possibility to ise intramuscular electrodes? In this way you will be sure that there will be no cross-talks.

try to identify motor point of these musles so that localisation will be easy, you may use a muscle stimulator for the same, a Physiotherapist will be definately helpful

At first, I recommend that you get help from a physiotherapist or an anatomist, because you need experience and knowledge about muscle function and muscle position in the body. Also, you can use touch along with finger activity to strengthen touch and identify a specific muscle.

Thank you Pankaj Verma

I will try to incorporate in my next readings.

Bogdan Antohe

Thank you, Professor, for the help.

No, we do not have those with us right now. Will these be invasive, or can they be placed on the surface of the skin?

Archana Ranade

Thank You, Ma'am!

I am also trying to collaborate with a person with a medical background, but we are in the preliminary phase of the study, so I was trying to gather the knowledge on my own.

Abolfazl Faghihi

Thank you, Professor, for the help.

I am using muscle palpation and getting help from medical books on palpation techniques. I am also seeking assistance from a person with a medical background.