Table 2.
Peak (90th percentile) EMG amplitudes (mean + SD) reported as % maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) during the picking task for 4 muscle groups at 4 epochs (time periods)
| Condition | Back Extensorsh,k,a (% MVIC) (N = 15) | Hip extensorsk,a (%MVIC) (N = 15) | Rectus femorisa (%MVIC) (N = 14) | Abdominals (%MVIC) (N = 15) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time 0–15†‡✣ | ||||
| No Suit | 34.5 ± 10.3 | 33.8 ± 11.7 | 15.4 ± 8.6 | 8.8 ± 5.1 |
| Exosuit | 30.0 ± 10.8 | 30.4 ± 10.8 | 12.0 ± 6.6 | 10.8 ± 5.8 |
| Time 15–30 †‡✣ | ||||
| No Suit | 33.7 ± 11.1 | 30.3 ± 10.7 | 12.8 ± 6.9 | 9.2 ± 4.8 |
| Exosuit | 28.0 ± 10.1 | 27.5 ± 10.0 | 10.0 ± 5.5 | 9.8 ± 5.2 |
| Time 30–45 | ||||
| No Suit | 33.6 ± 10.9 | 29.1 ± 9.9 | 11.7 ± 6.9 | 8.2 ± 4.5 |
| Exosuit | 27.5 ± 9.6 | 26.3 ± 10.2 | 8.9 ± 6.3 | 8.5 ± 4.2 |
| Time 45–60 | ||||
| No Suit | 34.3 ± 11.2 | 28.9 ± 10.0 | 11.2 ± 7.0 | 7.4 ± 3.8 |
| Exosuit | 26.5 ± 9.8 | 25.2 ± 10.5 | 7.9 ± 5.1 | 7.7 ± 3.9 |
| Average (Time 0–60) | ||||
| No Suit | 34.0 ± 10.8* | 30.6 ± 10.8* | 12.8 ± 7.6* | 8.7 ± 4.6 |
| Exosuit | 28.0 ± 10.1 | 27.4 ± 10.5 | 9.9 ± 6.5 | 9.2 ± 5.0 |
| Statistics | F-Score | probability | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Condition | F(1,3506) = 185.4 | p < 0.001 | ||
| Epoch | F(3,3506) = 48.4 | p < 0.001 | ||
| Mgroup | F(3,3506) = 2946.3 | p < 0.001 | ||
| Cond*Epoch | F(3,3506) = 0.7 | p = 0.549 | ||
| Cond*MGroup | F(3,3506) = 40.1 | p < 0.001 | ||
| Epoch*MGroup | F(9,3506) = 2.5 | p = 0.007 | ||
| Cond*Epoch*MGroup | F(9,3506) = 0.9 | p = 0.565 |
Note: N represents the number of participants with complete EMG data for a specific muscle group. Significant main effects and interactions are highlighted in bold, and trends are indicated by an underline. Significant muscle group by condition post-hocs (*) demonstrate when the no-suit condition is different from the exosuit condition within a specified muscle group (column) in the average row. Post hoc between muscle groups are denoted by superscript letters to show when the activity of the indicated site is higher than the back (b), hip (h) or knee (k) extensors, and the abdominals (a) in the condition (top) row. Significant epoch main effects are denoted by superscript symbols to show if there is higher activity than epoch 1(†), 2 (✣), 3 (‡) & 4 (✣) in the condition column. Other post hoc symbols are not included in the table.