Surface EMG is a non-medical procedure used to assess muscle activation by several professionals, including physiotherapists, kinesiologists and biomedical engineers.

[citation needed] An acceleromyograph may be used for neuromuscular monitoring in general anesthesia with neuromuscular-blocking drugs, in order to avoid postoperative residual curarization (PORC).

[6][7][8][9] Except in the case of some purely primary myopathic conditions EMG is usually performed with another electrodiagnostic medicine test that measures the conducting function of nerves.

Needle EMG and NCSs are typically indicated when there is pain in the limbs, weakness from spinal nerve compression, or concern about some other neurologic injury or disorder.

No published reports exist of cellulitis, infection, or other complications related to EMG performed in the setting of lymphedema or prior lymph node dissection.

However, given the unknown risk of cellulitis in patients with lymphedema, reasonable caution should be exercised in performing needle examinations in lymphedematous regions to avoid complications.

[citation needed] To perform intramuscular EMG, typically either a monopolar or concentric needle electrode is inserted through the skin into the muscle tissue.

A review of the literature on surface EMG published in 2008, concluded that surface EMG may be useful to detect the presence of neuromuscular disease (level C rating, class III data), but there are insufficient data to support its utility for distinguishing between neuropathic and myopathic conditions or for the diagnosis of specific neuromuscular diseases.

EMGs may be useful for additional study of fatigue associated with post-poliomyelitis syndrome and electromechanical function in myotonic dystrophy (level C rating, class III data).

[11] Recently, with the rise of technology in sports, sEMG has become an area of focus for coaches to reduce the incidence of soft tissue injury and improve player performance.

Therefore, the researcher should be very careful while choosing the MVC position type to elicit the greater muscle activity level from the subjects.

According to the article "Peak and average rectified EMG measures: Which method of data reduction should be used for assessing core training exercises?

Providing the reader with both sets of data would result in enhanced validity of the study and potentially eradicate the contradictions within the research.

Needle EMG has limitations, however, in that it does involve voluntary activation of muscle, and as such is less informative in patients unwilling or unable to cooperate, children and infants, and in individuals with paralysis.

As adipose tissue increased, the amplitude of the surface EMG signal directly above the center of the active muscle decreased.

EMG signal recordings are typically more accurate with individuals who have lower body fat, and more compliant skin, such as young people when compared to old.

When the muscle is fully contracted, there should appear a disorderly group of action potentials of varying rates and amplitudes (a complete recruitment); this can be described as an interference pattern.

In 1792, a publication entitled De Viribus Electricitatis in Motu Musculari Commentarius appeared, written by Luigi Galvani, in which the author demonstrated that electricity could initiate muscle contraction.

Six decades later, in 1849, Emil du Bois-Reymond discovered that it was also possible to record electrical activity during a voluntary muscle contraction.

In the early 1980s, Cram and Steger introduced a clinical method for scanning a variety of muscles using an EMG sensing device.

[37] Research began at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota under the guidance of Edward H. Lambert, MD, PhD (1915–2003) in the early 1950s.

Oscilloscopes at that time were not able to store or print results, so a Polaroid camera was affixed to the front on a hinge and synchronized to photograph the scan.

It was not until the middle of the 1980s that integration techniques in electrodes had sufficiently advanced to allow batch production of the required small and lightweight instrumentation and amplifiers.

This enables definition of a class of subtle motionless gestures to control interfaces without being noticed and without disrupting the surrounding environment.

The Human Senses Group at the NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, CA seeks to advance man-machine interfaces by directly connecting a person to a computer.

EMG has also been used in research towards a "wearable cockpit", which employs EMG-based gestures to manipulate switches and control sticks necessary for flight in conjunction with a goggle-based display.

An interface device based on an EMG Switch can be used to control moving objects, such as mobile robots or an electric wheelchair.

[43] In 2016 a startup called Emteq Labs launched a virtual reality headset with embedded EMG sensors for measuring facial expressions.

[44] In September 2019 Facebook, later renamed Meta Platforms, bought a startup called CTRL-labs that was working on EMG.

[45] In 2024, Meta unveiled augmented reality glasses that were paired with a wristband that reads a user's hand gestures using electromyography.