Analysis of the suprahyoid muscles during tongue elevation: High-density surface electromyography as a novel tool for swallowing-related muscle assessment

Abstract

Background: High-density surface electromyography (HD-sEMG) has enabled non-invasive analysis of motor unit (MU) activity and recruitment, but its application to swallowing-related muscles is limited.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the utility of HD-sEMG for quantitatively evaluating the MU recruitment characteristics of the suprahyoid muscles during tongue elevation.

Methods: We measured the sEMG activity of the suprahyoid muscles of healthy participants during tongue elevation using HD-sEMG. Maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) was measured, followed by data collection during sustained and ramp-up tasks to capture suprahyoid muscle activity. Changes in the temporal/spatial MU recruitment patterns within individual suprahyoid muscles were analysed.

Results: This study enrolled 16 healthy young adults (mean age: 27.8 ± 5.3 years; eight males and eight females). Increasing muscle force corresponded to a decrease in modified entropy and correlation coefficient and an increase in the coefficient of variation. No significant differences were observed between male and female participants.

Conclusion: The results of this study, consistent with those observed in other muscles, such as the vastus lateralis muscle, suggest that HD-sEMG is a valuable and reliable tool for quantitatively evaluating MU recruitment in the suprahyoid muscles. This measurement technique holds promise for novel assessments of swallowing function.

Keywords: high‐density surface electromyography; motor units; recruitment characteristics; suprahyoid muscles; swallowing evaluation.