Local Muscle Energy Metabolic Rate in Human Static Postures

Abstract

According to the prediction method of local muscle energy metabolic rate by the author (1980a), local metabolic rates of five muscle groups were determined during eleven static postures. For the above purpose total metabolic rate and integrated surface electromyograms were measured and the simultaneous equations were solved on an electronic computer for each individual subject. The subjects were four young Japanese normal males. The predicted five muscle groups were the muscle erector spinae, the muscles of the buttock, the posterior femoral muscle group, the anterior femoral muscle group and the posterior crural muscle group. Five standing, three half rising, one deep forward bending and two resting postures were tested in the present study. The quantitative results of local muscle metabolic rate [Kcal/h] confirmed a number of findings with reference to human static postures by previous investigators mainly from the view points of electromyography. That was discussed concerning the five local muscle groups. The comparison of the coefficients of variation of metabolic rate disclosed the type differences among eleven static postures and the differences of the roles of the antigravity muscle groups during sustained postures. It was suggested that if metabolic rate in one side of a muscle group would exceed above 10Kcal/h during a static posture man could not achive to sustain the static posture for a long time.