Title slide for EMG Lab Experiment: Sit to Stand Timing and Coordination, showing a subject standing from a chair alongside EMG signal graphs on the screen.

Sit to Stand Timing and Coordination

This lab explores the coordination and timing of muscle activation during a sit-to-stand transition using surface EMG. By examining the onset and sequence of activation in key lower limb and trunk muscles, students gain practical insight into motor control strategies, muscle recruitment patterns, and how the body regulates force to perform this fundamental movement.

Why Analyze
Timing and Coordination? 

Timing and coordination are essential for:

  • Identifying neuromuscular impairments that affect movement efficiency.
  • Detecting compensatory strategies that develop after injury or with aging.
  • Understanding functional deficits linked to neurological conditions.

By examining the sequence and onset of muscle activation during a sit-to-stand transition, students and practitioners can gain valuable insight into how the body generates and regulates force to perform this fundamental movement.

Participant seated in a chair in a biomechanics lab, wearing EMG sensors on the thigh to prepare for a sit-to-stand movement assessment.
EMG analysis screen showing muscle activation graphs for lumbar erector spinae, rectus femoris, biceps femoris, and gastrocnemius during a sit-to-stand task, alongside a video of a subject standing from a chair in a biomechanics lab.

Learning Objectives for Students

Muscle Activation Onset & Sequence

Learn how to identify when key trunk and lower limb muscles activate and in what order during the sit-to-stand transition

Motor Control
Strategies 

Explore how the body coordinates multiple muscles to shift the center of mass, maintain balance, and generate force for rising from a seated position.

Clinical & Research Applications

Understand how timing and coordination analysis can reveal neuromuscular impairments, compensatory strategies, and functional deficits relevant to rehab, aging, and performance.