Home-Based Nonoperative-Side Quadriceps Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation Prevents Muscle Weakness Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Patients and Study Design
2.2. Standard Rehabilitation Program
2.3. Interventions (NMES and Sham-NMES)
2.4. Assessments
2.5. Knee Extensor Strength
2.6. Quadriceps Voluntary Activation and Muscle Thickness
2.7. Self-Reported Knee Function
2.8. Statistics
3. Results
3.1. Primary Outcomes
3.2. Secondary Outcomes
4. Discussion
4.1. Main Findings
4.2. NMES Prevented Muscle Weakness 6 Months after Surgery
4.3. NMES Preserved Activation and Increased Mass of the Stimulated Muscle
4.4. NMES Did Not Influence Self-Reported Function
4.5. Limitations
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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NMES (n = 12) | Sham-NMES (n = 12) | p-Value (t-Test) | |
---|---|---|---|
Number of women/men | 5/7 | 5/7 | - |
Age (years) | 29 ± 6 | 30 ± 11 | 0.64 |
Height (cm) | 172 ± 8 | 171 ± 6 | 0.56 |
Weight (kg) | 68 ± 13 | 71 ± 14 | 0.56 |
Time from injury to surgery (months) | 7 ± 8 | 8 ± 5 | 0.77 |
Number of HTG/PTG | 11/1 | 9/3 | - |
Number of partial meniscectomies | 6 | 5 | - |
Number of cartilage repairs | 1 | 1 | - |
Preinjury Tegner score (0–10) | 6.5 ± 1.7 | 7.2 ± 1.2 | 0.58 |
Preoperative Tegner score (0–10) | 3.5 ± 1.7 | 3.6 ± 1.6 | 0.70 |
Group | Side | Pre | Week 2 | Week 8 | Week 24 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Isometric strength | NMES | Nonoperative | 216 ± 74 | 206 ± 72 a | 197 ± 72 a | 217 ± 77 |
(Nm) | NMES | Operative | 188 ± 82 * | / | / | 184 ± 70 * |
sham-NMES | Nonoperative | 204 ± 53 | 186 ± 52 a | 195 ± 56 a | 212 ± 62 | |
sham-NMES | Operative | 165 ± 56 * | / | / | 155 ± 63 * | |
Concentric strength | NMES | Nonoperative | 190 ± 55 | 188 ± 55 | 188 ± 56 | 209 ± 11 b |
(Nm) | NMES | Operative | 158 ± 63 * | / | / | 169 ± 57 * |
sham-NMES | Nonoperative | 181 ± 49 | 181 ± 44 | 186 ± 45 | 199 ± 54 b | |
sham-NMES | Operative | 148 ± 49 * | / | / | 141 ± 55 * | |
Eccentric strength | NMES | Nonoperative | 260 ± 77 | 260 ± 82 | 266 ± 78 c | 286 ± 86 d |
(Nm) | NMES | Operative | 219 ± 88 * | / | / | 224 ± 78 * |
sham-NMES | Nonoperative | 232 ± 50 | 240 ± 55 | 253 ± 56 c | 244 ± 49 d | |
sham-NMES | Operative | 198 ± 57 * | / | / | 178 ± 53 * |
Group | Pre | Week 2 | Week 8 | Week 24 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pain (0–100) | NMES | 88 ± 13 | 66 ± 17 a | 77 ± 16 bc | 87 ± 11 |
sham-NMES | 79 ± 14 | 66 ± 17 a | 73 ± 7 bc | 85 ± 9 | |
Symptoms (0–100) | NMES | 80 ± 14 | 54 ± 12 a | 72 ± 17 bc | 84 ± 13 |
sham-NMES | 74 ± 20 | 49 ± 13 a | 60 ± 17 bc | 79 ± 14 | |
Activities daily living (0–100) | NMES | 96 ± 5 | 65 ± 18 a | 90 ± 7 bc | 98 ± 3 |
sham-NMES | 93 ± 10 | 56 ± 16 a | 87 ± 9 bc | 97 ± 3 | |
Quality of life (0–100) | NMES | 39 ± 15 d | 20 ± 15 a | 41 ± 20 d | 54 ± 23 |
sham-NMES | 33 ± 16 d | 16 ± 12 a | 35 ± 18 d | 53 ± 22 |
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Wellauer, V.; Item, J.F.; Bizzini, M.; Maffiuletti, N.A. Home-Based Nonoperative-Side Quadriceps Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation Prevents Muscle Weakness Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction. J. Clin. Med. 2022, 11, 466. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11020466
Wellauer V, Item JF, Bizzini M, Maffiuletti NA. Home-Based Nonoperative-Side Quadriceps Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation Prevents Muscle Weakness Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2022; 11(2):466. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11020466
Chicago/Turabian StyleWellauer, Vanessa, Julia F. Item, Mario Bizzini, and Nicola A. Maffiuletti. 2022. "Home-Based Nonoperative-Side Quadriceps Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation Prevents Muscle Weakness Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction" Journal of Clinical Medicine 11, no. 2: 466. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11020466