Effect of different robot-assisted muscle strength training modes on muscle activation of elbow joint*

Robot-assisted muscle strength training plays an important role in improving muscle strength for patients and athletes. To find the best solution for muscle strength training of athletes’ elbow joint, this work explores the influence of different robot-assisted muscle strength training modes on muscle activation related to elbow joint. The experiments were conducted on five healthy subjects, and the difference of elbow muscle activation degree of each subject under six different robot-assisted muscle strength training modes was compared. Results show that robot-assisted muscle strength training can effectively promote muscle function; In the six modes, the centripetal-centrifugal mode has a significant degree of muscle activation for elbow flexion, while the centrifugal-centripetal mode has a significant effect on muscle activation for elbow extension; The isometric mode is the best choice when needs to train all the muscles related to the elbow joint. The work lays the groundwork for the adaptive adjustment of the optimal training mode according to the different muscle strength level of athletes, to better enhance their elbow joints’ muscle strength.