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The effect of antecedent muscle tension levels on the performance of selected motor activities

University of British Columbia

The general purpose of this thesis was to determine whether future research involving EMG biofeedback as a pre-competition muscle relaxation technique for competitive athletes was warranted. More specifically, the goals were first to determine if there were increases in the muscle tension levels of competing athletes prior to competitive events and then to determine whether such increases could affect the performance of motor tasks. In Experiment 1 the muscle tension levels of the right forearm flexor and quadricep muscle groups of 10 collegiate wrestlers were monitored prior to a competitive event There was a significant increase in the levels of muscle tension of the right forearm flexor group. In Experiment 2 subjects were asked to reproduce these increases in muscle tension with the aid of EMG biofeedback prior to the performance of three motor skills. It was discovered that such increases in muscle tension disrupted the performance of both the Hand-Steadiness and Grip-Strength Tests. Thus, competitive athletes do have elevated pre-competition levels of muscle tension which may disrupt some kinds of motor performance. The present results, therefore, suggest that future re search involving EMG biofeedback as a pre-competition muscle relaxation technique for competitive athletes is warranted.

Text

2010-02-19

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/20484

Physical Education

University of British Columbia

Graduate