Examining the association between speed and myoelectric activity: Time-based differences and muscle group balance

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between speed and myoelectric activity, measured during an incremental 25m shuttle running test, exploring the time-based variations and assessing muscle group balance within the context of this association. Twelve male young soccer players (n = 12) aged 18±1.2 years, with an average body mass of 68.4±5.8kg and average body height of 1.72±0.08m, from a professional Italian youth team (Italian “Primavera”), volunteered as participants for this study. The speed of each player during testing was measured using GPS technology, sampling at 50Hz. Myoelectrical activities of the gluteus, hamstrings, and quadriceps muscles were recorded through wearable sEMG devices, sampled at 100Hz. To ensure alignment of the sampling frequencies, the sEMG data was resampled to 50Hz, matching the GPS data sampling rate. This allowed for direct comparison and analysis of the data obtained from both measurement systems. The collected data were then analyzed to determine the relationship between the investigated variables and any potential differences associated with different sides of the body. The results revealed a robust correlation (r2≈0.97) between the speed of the participants (m·s-1) and their myoelectrical activity (μV) during the test. Factorial ANOVA 2x11 showed no significant differences between the sides of the analyzed muscles (p>0.05). The interpolation lines generated by the association of speed and sEMG exhibit very similar angular coefficients (0.9 to 0.12) in all six measurements obtained from electromyography of the three investigated muscle groups on each side of the body. In conclusion, the concurrent validity between the two instruments in this study indicates that GPS and sEMG are valid and consistent in estimating external load and internal load during incremental shuttle running.