title: Electrical stimulation versus voluntary exercise in strengthening thigh musculature after anterior cruciate ligament surgery.
abstract: Twenty patients who had undergone anterior cruciate ligament reconstructive surgery were placed randomly and independently in an Electrical Stimulation Group (n = 10) or Voluntary Exercise Group (n = 10) to compare the effectiveness of these two muscle-strengthening protocols. Patients in both groups used simultaneous contraction of quadriceps femoris and hamstring muscles during a training regimen that consisted of either voluntary exercise or electrical stimulation trials five days a week for a three-week period within the first six postoperative weeks. After patients completed the training regimen, bilateral maximal isometric measurements of gravity-corrected knee extension and flexion torque were obtained for both groups and percentages were calculated. Results showed that patients in the Electrical Stimulation Group finished the three-week training regimen with higher percentages of both extension and flexion torque when compared with patients in the Voluntary Exercise Group (extension: t = 4.35, p less than .05; flexion; t = 6.64, p less than .05). These results indicate that patients in an electrical stimulation regimen can achieve higher individual thigh musculature strength gains than patients in a voluntary exercise regimen when simultaneous contraction of thigh muscles is prescribed during an early phase of postoperative rehabilitation.
authors.affiliation: Program in Physical Therapy, Washington University Medical School, St. Louis, MO.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Delitto
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Rose
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: McKowen
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Lehman
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Shively
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D006801:Humans; D007718:Knee Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation* / Q000601:surgery; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D008023:Ligaments, Articular / Q000601:surgery*; D009068:Movement; D009119:Muscle Contraction; D009132:Muscles / Q000503:physiopathology