Pre-Conference Workshops

All Workshops will be offered on the 16th of June and will take place at Aalborg Congress & Culture Center. Workshop registration will be possible when the congress registration opens (see Important Deadlines).

High Density Surface EMG (HDEMG)
Organizer: Roberto Merletti
LISiN, Politecnico di Torino, Italy

The first part of the workshop will address issues concerning HDEMG ranging from electrode-skin contact, array technology and amplifier front-end stages to image processing and pattern recognition. Clinical applications will be discussed. A demonstration, including decomposition of surface EMG into the constituent action potential trains, will be provided in the second part.

Participants will learn about the current and future possibilities offered by this imaging technique in the field of ergonomics, occupational medicine, sport and movement sciences.

  • R. Merletti: Past, present and future of HdsEMG
  • J. H. Blok: Applications of high-density surface EMG in clinical research
  • K. Roeleveld: Physiopathology of spatial heterogeneity of skeletal muscle activation through HDsEMG
  • A. Holobar: Decomposition of HDsEMG into the constituent action potential trains
  • C. Disselhorst-Klug: Estimation of muscular coordination, muscle force and fatigue through multichannel or HDsEMG.
  • Corrado Cescon and co-workers: DEMONSTRATION

Neuromuscular impairment in musculoskeletal pain conditions
Organizers: Thomas Graven-Nielsen1, Paul Hodges2
1Center for Sensory-Motor Interaction (SMI), Aalborg University, Denmark
2Division of Physiotherapy, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

The clinical importance of pain from deep structures is obvious as it represents a major part of pain complaints in patients. An important direction for research and clinical practice is to improve the management of these conditions. It has become increasingly evident that musculoskeletal pain impairs daily activities. This workshop will focus on how musculoskeletal pain interacts with the motor control system and how this interaction can be assessed. It will update the audience on the possible mechanisms involved in the interaction between pain and muscle function. Finally, the translation from experimental studies to the clinical interpretation and implication for management will be presented.

  • Thomas Graven-Nielsen: Motor adaptation in musculoskeletal pain
  • Silvestro Roatta: Pain related sympathetic changes in muscle function
  • Paul Hodges: Motor unit recruitment strategies during deep-tissue pain
  • Gisela Sjøgaard: Changes in motor control strategies and muscle metabolism in trapezius myalgia
  • Miriam Vollenbroek-Hutten: Trunk muscle activity during gait in low back pain patients – the relevance of the guarding hypothesis

Motor activity in relation to prevention and treatment of work-related musculoskeletal disorders
Organizers: Karen Søgaard1, Pascal Madeleine2
1Institute of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University Of Southern Denmark, Denmark
2Center for Sensory-Motor Interaction (SMI), Aalborg University, Denmark

This workshop will introduce participants to ergonomic exposure assessment methods quantifying sensory-motor changes in relation to work-related musculoskeletal disorders. The workshop will concentrate on subjective, physiological and biomechanical methods for assessing discomfort/pain and motor activity in relation to static (e.g. computer work) and repetitive work (e.g. material handling). Lecturers will discuss the advantages/drawbacks of each assessment methods. Moreover, the relationship between sensory and motor changes will be discussed in relation to the prevention and treatment of work-related musculoskeletal disorders using e.g. a biofeedback approach. Participants will gain valuable knowledge about ergonomic exposure assessment methods necessary for a sound evaluation of interventions aiming at reducing or treating work-related musculoskeletal disorders.

  • Pascal Madeleine: Assessing discomfort, pain and motor activity in work-related conditions
  • Paul J Mork: Muscle activity in work and leisure and the relation to musculoskeletal pain
  • Hermie Hermens: Daily life movement recordings and pain (tentative)
  • Leif Sandsjö: Rest time analysis of SEMG applied in biofeedback interventions addressing neck pain at work
  • Karen Søgaard: Interventions for prevention and treatment of work-related musculoskeletal disorders

Introduction to EMG Decomposition
Organizer: Kevin McGill
Rehabilitation R&D Center, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, US

EMG decomposition is one of a very few methods for studying the behavior and architecture of individual human motor units in vivo. This workshop will provide a practical introduction to EMG decomposition, based on the open-source EMGlab program and focusing on intramuscular (needle or fine-wire) EMG. Topics will include signal acquisition, computer-aided decomposition, best practices for achieving reliable results, accuracy assessment, and the tradeoffs between needle and surface EMG. Examples will be presented to show how EMG decomposition can be used to investigate issues in muscle-fiber physiology, muscle architecture, and the neural control of movement.

  • Kevin McGill: Introduction to EMG decomposition
  • Zoia Lateva: Applications of EMG decomposition
  • Ales Holobar: Decomposition of high-density surface EMG
  • Hamid Marateb: Assessing the accuracy of EMG decomposition.

Use and Usefulness of Surface EMG in Sport Biomechanics
Organizer: Uwe G. Kersting
Center for Sensory-Motor Interaction (SMI), Aalborg University, Denmark

The study of muscular activity during sport movements is of great appeal to biomechanists and other sport scientists alike. This demand can be met as recent developments in lightweight, long lasting data recording or wireless transmission systems allow for extensive EMG recordings in almost any real-life sport situation.

At the start of this workshop, basic applications of EMG studies in sport biomechanics will be reviewed. This will include the derivation and demonstration of general guidelines for EMG recordings in highly dynamic movements. Second, applications and new approaches to the practical use of EMG in sports and exercise will be summarized. Third, options for the use of EMG in the context of biomechanical modeling will be outlined and demonstrated based on most recent studies. Possible future modalities for research in the area will be discussed.

  • Uwe Kersting: EMG in highly dynamic movements – scope, challenges and methodological considerations
  • Lars Janshen: Technical background, practical guidelines and interpretation of EMG signals
  • Anderson Oliveira: Applying muscle synergies to reactive recovery of balance in sports
  • Paul Marshall: Muscle activation and rate of force development in advanced resistance trained males
  • Mark de Zee: The use of EMG in the validation of musculoskeletal models
  • Uwe Kersting: Concluding remarks.

… Check regularly this web site for news on the pre-congress workshop program.