Muscle activity is different for humans performing static tasks which require force control and position control.

Abstract

Muscle activation levels in humans were examined during two different static tasks which required the same joint angles and the same joint moments. In the isometric case, joint angles were fixed and subjects were required to match forces. In the isoinertial case, a constant load was imposed across the joint and the subject was required to match position. It was observed that for a specified posture and for specified load conditions, EMG activity varied depending on whether the limb was loaded isometrically or isoinertially. That is, different co-activation relationships were observed for position control versus force control tasks during otherwise similar conditions. These results imply that the neural command for static tasks depends on more than joint angles and load magnitude.