ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: Regaining muscle strength is essential for successful outcome after anterior cruciate ligament injury, why progression of exercise intensity in anterior cruciate ligament injury rehabilitation is important. Thus, this study evaluated hamstring and quadriceps muscle activity progression during bodyweight exercises used in a validated anterior cruciate ligament injury rehabilitation program. DESIGN: The study design involved single-occasion repeated measures in a randomized manner. Twenty healthy athletes (nine females) performed nine bodyweight exercises (three exercises per rehabilitation phase). Surface electromyography signals were recorded for hamstring (semitendinosus, biceps femoris) and quadriceps (vastus medialis, vastus lateralis) muscles and normalized to isometric peak electromyography. RESULTS: Hamstring muscle activity did not increase from one rehabilitation phase to the next, ranging between 8% and 45% normalized electromyography for semitendinosus and 11% and 54% normalized electromyography for biceps femoris. Only one exercise (Cook hip lift) exhibited hamstring muscle activities more than 60% normalized electromyography. By contrast, quadriceps muscle activity increased, and late-phase exercises displayed high normalized electromyography (vastus lateralis >60% and vastus medialis >90% normalized electromyography). CONCLUSIONS: The examined bodyweight exercises did not progress for hamstring muscle activity but successfully progressed for quadriceps muscles activity. This study highlights the need for consensus on exercise selection when targeting the hamstring muscles in the rehabilitation after anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Subject(s)
Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries/physiopathology , Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries/rehabilitation , Body Weight , Electromyography/methods , Exercise Therapy/methods , Adult , Cross-Sectional Studies , Denmark , Exercise/physiology , Female , Hamstring Muscles/physiopathology , Humans , Male , Muscle Strength/physiology , Quadriceps Muscle/physiopathology , Treatment Outcome , Young AdultABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To determine whether segmental training is more effective in improving gross motor function in children and young people with moderate-to-severe cerebral palsy than conventional physiotherapy. METHODS: Twenty-eight participants were randomized to a segmental training or control group. Outcomes were Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM), Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI), Segmental Assessment of Trunk Control (SATCo), and postural sway at baseline, at primary endpoint (6 months), and at follow-up (12 months). RESULTS: There were no significant differences in either GMFM, PEDI, or SATCo scores at primary endpoint or follow-up. There were significant reductions in anterior-posterior head angular sway and trunk sway in the segmental training group at primary endpoint but not at follow-up. CONCLUSION: Segmental training was not superior to usual care in improving GMFM. Improvements in head and trunk sway were greater in the segmental training group at primary endpoint but not at follow-up.
Subject(s)
Cerebral Palsy/rehabilitation , Exercise Therapy/methods , Neurological Rehabilitation/methods , Posture , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Head Movements , Humans , Male , Motor SkillsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Adolescent female football and handball players are among the athletes with the highest risk of sustaining anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries. AIM: This study evaluated the effects of evidence-based lower extremity injury prevention training on neuromuscular and biomechanical risk factors for non-contact ACL injury. METHODS: 40 adolescent female football and handball players (15-16â years) were randomly allocated to a control group (CON, n=20) or neuromuscular training group (NMT, n=20). The NMT group performed an injury prevention programme as a warm-up before their usual training 3 times weekly for 12â weeks. The CON group completed their regular warm-up exercise programme before training. Players were tested while performing a side cutting movement at baseline and 12-week follow-up, using surface electromyography (EMG) and three-dimensional movement analysis. We calculated: (1) EMG amplitude from vastus lateralis (VL), semitendinosus (ST) and biceps femoris 10â ms prior to initial contact (IC) normalised to peak EMG amplitude recorded during maximal voluntary isometric contraction and (2) VL-ST EMG preactivity difference during the 10â ms prior to foot contact (primary outcome). We measured maximal knee joint valgus moment and knee valgus angle at IC. RESULTS: There was a difference between groups at follow-up in VL-ST preactivity (43% between-group difference; 95% CI 32% to 55%). No between-group differences were observed for kinematic and kinetic variables. CONCLUSIONS: A 12-week injury prevention programme in addition to training and match play in adolescent females altered the pattern of agonist-antagonist muscle preactivity during side cutting. This may represent a more ACL-protective motor strategy.
Subject(s)
Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries , Athletic Injuries/prevention & control , Knee Injuries/prevention & control , Physical Conditioning, Human/methods , Warm-Up Exercise , Adolescent , Athletes , Biomechanical Phenomena , Electromyography , Female , Humans , Knee Joint/physiology , Movement , Muscle Strength , Muscle, Skeletal/physiology , Risk Factors , SoccerABSTRACT
Acute Achilles tendon rupture alters the biomechanical properties of the plantar flexor muscle-tendon complex that can affect functional performance and the risk of repeat injury. The purpose of the present study was to compare the biomechanical properties of the plantar flexor muscle-tendon complex in patients randomized to early weightbearing or non-weightbearing in the nonoperative treatment of Achilles tendon rupture. A total of 60 patients were randomized to full weightbearing from day 1 of treatment or non-weightbearing for 6 weeks. After 6 and 12 months, the peak passive torque at 20° dorsiflexion, the stiffness during slow stretching, and the maximal strength were measured in both limbs. The stiffness of the plantar flexor muscle-tendon complex in the terminal part of dorsiflexion was significantly increased (p = .024) in the non-weightbearing group at 12 months. The peak passive torque was significantly lower for the affected limb at 6 months (91%; p = .01), and the stiffness was significantly lower for the affected limb during the early part of dorsiflexion at 6 (67%; p < .001) and 12 (77%; p < .001) months. In conclusion, an increased stiffness of the plantar flexor muscle-tendon complex in the terminal part of dorsiflexion was found in the non-weightbearing group. The altered stiffness and strength in the affected limb could affect the coordination of gait and running.
Subject(s)
Achilles Tendon/injuries , Early Ambulation , Exercise Therapy , Tendon Injuries/rehabilitation , Weight-Bearing/physiology , Achilles Tendon/physiopathology , Adult , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Muscle Strength/physiology , Muscle, Skeletal/physiopathology , Range of Motion, Articular/physiology , Recovery of Function/physiology , Rupture , Single-Blind Method , Tendon Injuries/physiopathology , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Dynamic rehabilitation has been suggested to be an important part of nonoperative treatment of acute Achilles tendon rupture that results in functional outcome and rerupture rates comparable with those of operative treatment. However, the optimal role of weight-bearing during early rehabilitation remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to compare immediate weight-bearing with non-weight-bearing in a nonoperative dynamic treatment protocol for Achilles tendon rupture. METHODS: The study was conducted as a blinded, randomized, controlled, parallel superiority trial. Patients eighteen to sixty years of age were eligible for inclusion. Both groups were treated nonoperatively with controlled early motion. The intervention group was allowed full weight-bearing from day one, and the control group was non-weight-bearing for six weeks. The primary outcome was the Achilles tendon Total Rupture Score (ATRS) after one year. Secondary outcomes included heel-rise work, health-related quality of life, and the rerupture rate. Outcome assessors were blinded to the intervention. RESULTS: Thirty patients were randomized to each group; twenty-nine in the weight-bearing group and twenty-seven in the control group were analyzed. The only significant difference between the groups was better health-related quality of life in the weight-bearing group at twelve months (p = 0.009). The mean ATRS at twelve months was 73 in the weight-bearing group and 74 in the control group (p = 0.81). At twelve months, the total heel-rise work performed by the injured limb relative to that by the uninjured limb was 53% in the weight-bearing group and 58% in the control group (p = 0.37). There were three reruptures in the weight-bearing group and two in the control group (p = 1.0). CONCLUSIONS: The ATRS and heel-rise work results did not differ significantly between the groups. The rerupture rate was 9% overall, and both groups had substantial functional deficits in the injured limb compared with the uninjured limb. Immediate weight-bearing can be recommended as an option in the nonoperative treatment of Achilles tendon rupture.