Estimated features from surface EMG of the lower limb correlate with the subjective sensation of pain

ABSTRACT

Pain assessment is very important in establishing the efficacy of analgesics and therapies, but because pain is a subjective experience, using methods that represent pain objectively is necessary. A number of biopotentials have been employed in studies of the objective assessment of pain. However, few investigations have considered the peripheral nervous system response to electrical stimulation. The present study evaluated a method for pain quantification based on the analysis of biopotentials. We assessed electromyographic activity that resulted from evoked movements from the nociceptive flexion reflex (NFR). We investigated correlations between stimulus intensity, features extracted from surface electromyography (EMG), and subjective pain reported by subjects using a Visual Analog Scale (VAS). A total of 10 healthy male subjects without any pain disorder, aged 20-27 years, participated in the study. A high correlation (r2 > .87) was found between stimulus intensity and the following features extracted from the EMG: area, root mean square (RMS), and entropy. A high correlation (r2 > .99) was also found between stimulus intensity and subjective pain reported on the VAS. We conclude that estimating features from electromyographic signals that are correlated with subjective pain sensations and the intensity of the electrical stimulus is possible. Entropy, RMS, and the area of the electromyographic signal appear to be relevant parameters in correlations with subjective pain.