Surface electromyography characteristics of patients with anterior cruciate ligament injury in different rehabilitation phases

Hongxing Cui; Zhijie Cao; Shanshan Wang; Hao Zhang; Ze Chen; Xipeng Wu; Yixuan Zhao; Shuyan Qie; Wei Li

doi:10.3389/fphys.2023.1116452

Surface electromyography characteristics of patients with anterior cruciate ligament injury in different rehabilitation phases

Front Physiol. 2023 Mar 27:14:1116452. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1116452. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Hongxing Cui¹, Zhijie Cao¹, Shanshan Wang¹, Hao Zhang², Ze Chen², Xipeng Wu², Yixuan Zhao², Shuyan Qie³, Wei Li¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Rehabilitation, Binzhou Medical University Hospital, Binzhou, Shandong, China.
² School of Rehabilitation Medicine, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, Shandong, China.
³ Department of Rehabilitation, Beijing Rehabilitation Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.

Abstract

Background: Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) is a common treatment for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. However, after ACLR, a significant proportion of patients do not return to pre-injury levels. Research on muscle function during movement has important implications in rehabilitation. Methods: Sixty patients with unilateral ACL injury were recruited for this study and assigned into three groups: group A, individuals with an ACL injury before 6 months; group B, individuals with ACLR from 6 months to 1 year; and group C, individuals with ACLR 1 year later. Surface electromyography (SEMG) signals were collected from the bilateral rectus femoris (RF), vastus medialis (VM), vastus lateralis (VL), biceps femoris (BF), and semitendinosus (ST). The tasks performed during the experiment included straight leg raising (SLR) training at 30°, SLR training at 60°, ankle dorsiflexion, walking, and fast walking. Results: In the maximum muscle strength test, the affected side of the BF in group A (199.4 ± 177.12) was significantly larger than in group B (53.91 ± 36.61, p = 0.02) and group C (75.08 ± 59.7, p = 0.023). In the walking test, the contralateral side of the RF in group B (347.53 ± 518.88) was significantly greater than that in group C (139.28 ± 173.78, p = 0.029). In the SLR training (60°) test, the contralateral side of the RF in group C (165.37 ± 183.06) was significantly larger than that in group A (115.09 ± 62.47, p = 0.023) and smaller than that in group B (226.21 ± 237.17, p = 0.046); In the ankle dorsiflexion training test, the contralateral side of the RF in group B (80.37 ± 87.9) was significantly larger than that in group C (45.61 ± 37.93, p = 0.046). Conclusion: This study showed the EMG characteristics of patients with ACL injury helped to determine which muscle requires more training and which exercise model would be best suited for intervention.

Keywords: anterior cruciate ligament injury; muscle function; muscle strength; rehabilitation; surface electromyography.

Grants and funding

The Shandong Natural Science Foundation (ZR2022MH063), Shandong Medical and Health Technology Development Plan (202020010886), Shandong Medical and Health Technology Development Plan (202120011007), and Capital Medical Development and Research Foundation (No. 2020-2-2251) partly supported this work.