scholarly journals Motor Control Changes after Innovative Aquatic Proprioceptive Training in Athletes with Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: Voluntary Response Index Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol In Press (In Press) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elie Hajouj ◽  
Mohammad Reza Hadian ◽  
Seyed Mohsen Mir ◽  
Saeed Talebian ◽  
Salah Ghazi

Objectives: The main aim of this study was to determine and compare the effects of innovative aquatic proprioceptive training plus conventional rehabilitation with conventional rehabilitation alone on voluntary response index (VRI) components in athletes with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). Methods: Forty male athletes with ACLR (18 - 35 years of age) voluntarily participated in this study. They were randomly allocated into two groups. The conventional therapy group (n = 20) underwent conventional rehabilitation for ten weeks, three sessions a week. The aquatic proprioceptive training plus conventional rehabilitation (n = 20) group received the same conventional rehabilitation plus 30 sessions of innovative hydrotherapy exercises. Voluntary response index analysis was carried out to determine changes in motor control and muscle activation patterns based on electromyographic (EMG) outcome measures. Results: There was a significant difference in the magnitude (MAG) and similarity index (SI) between the two groups at all phases of the functional task (sit-stand-sit) (P < 0.05). Also, both groups showed a significant change in MAG and SI at all phases of the functional task (sit-stand-sit) after the intervention (P < 0.05). Effect size in both groups for MAG and SI at all phases of the functional task (sit-stand-sit) ranged from 2.5 to 4.61 and from 0.29 to 1.7, respectively. Conclusions: The incorporation of innovative aquatic proprioceptive training into conventional accelerated rehabilitation protocol can improve motor control by influencing muscle activation patterns.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Azadeh Nasseri ◽  
David G Lloyd ◽  
Adam L Bryant ◽  
Jonathon Headrick ◽  
Timothy Sayer ◽  
...  

AbstractThis study determined anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) force and its contributors during a standardized drop-land-lateral jump task using a validated computational model. Healthy females (n=24) who were recreationally active performed drop-land-lateral jump and straight run tasks. Three-dimensional whole-body kinematics, ground reaction forces, and muscle activation patterns from eight lower limb muscles were collected concurrently during both tasks, but only the jump was analyzed computationally, with the run included for model calibration. External biomechanics, muscle-tendon unit kinematics, and muscle activation patterns were used to model lower limb muscle and ACL forces. Peak ACL force (2.3±0.5 BW) was observed at 13% of the stance phase during the drop-land-lateral jump task. The ACL force was primarily developed through the sagittal plane, and muscle was the dominant source of ACL loading. The gastrocnemii and quadriceps were main ACL antagonists (i.e., loaders), while hamstrings were the main ACL agonists (i.e., supporters).


2013 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsey K. Lepley ◽  
Abbey C. Thomas ◽  
Scott G. McLean ◽  
Riann M. Palmieri-Smith

Context:As individuals returning to activity after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLr) likely experience fatigue, understanding how fatigue affects knee-muscle activation patterns during sport-like maneuvers is of clinical importance. Fatigue has been suggested to impair neuromuscular control strategies. As a result, fatigue may place ACLr patients at increased risk of developing posttraumatic osteoarthritis (OA).Objective:To determine the effects of fatigue on knee-muscle activity post-ACLr.Design:Case control.Setting:University laboratory.Participants:12 individuals 7–10 mo post-ACLr (7 male, 5 female; age 22.1 ± 4.7 y; 1.8 ± 0.1 m; mass 77.7 ± 11.9 kg) and 13 controls (4 male, 9 female; age 22.9 ± 4.3 y; 1.7 ± 0.1 m; mass 66.9 ± 9.8 kg).Interventions:Fatigue was induced via repetitive sets of double-leg squats (n = 8), which were interspersed with sets of single-leg landings (n = 3), until squats were no longer possible.Main Outcome Measures:2 × 2 repeated-measures ANOVA was used to detect the main effects of group (ACLr, control) and fatigue state (prefatigue, postfatigue) on quadriceps:hamstring cocontraction index (Q:H CCI).Results:All subjects demonstrated higher Q:H CCI at prefatigue compared with postfatigue (F1,23 = 66.949, P ≤ .001). Q:H CCI did not differ between groups (F1,23 = 0.599, P = .447).Conclusions:The results indicate that regardless of fatigue state, ACLr individuals are capable of restoring muscle-activation patterns similar to those in healthy subjects. As a result, excessive muscle cocontraction, which has been hypothesized as a potential mechanism of posttraumatic OA, may not contribute to joint degeneration after ACLr.


2021 ◽  
pp. 036354652110033
Author(s):  
Thomas Tampere ◽  
Jan Victor ◽  
Thomas Luyckx ◽  
Hannes Vermue ◽  
Nele Arnout ◽  
...  

Background: Rates of reinjury, return to play (RTP) at the preinjury level, and hamstring strain injuries in male soccer players after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) remain unsatisfactory, due to multifactorial causes. Recent insights on intramuscular hamstring coordination revealed the semitendinosus (ST) to be of crucial importance for hamstring functioning, especially during heavy eccentric hamstring loading. Scientific evidence on the consequences of ST tendon harvest for ACLR is scarce and inconsistent. This study intended to investigate the repercussions of ST harvest for ACLR on hamstring muscle function. Hypothesis: Harvest of the ST tendon for ACLR was expected to have a significant influence on hamstring muscle activation patterns during eccentric exercises, evaluated at RTP in a population of male soccer athletes. Study Design: Controlled laboratory study. Methods: A total of 30 male soccer players with a history of ACLR who were cleared for RTP and 30 healthy controls were allocated to this study during the 2018-2019 soccer season. The influence of ACLR on hamstring muscle activation patterns was assessed by comparing the change in T2 relaxation times [ΔT2 (%) = [Formula: see text]] of the hamstring muscle tissue before and after an eccentric hamstring loading task between athletes with and without a recent history of ACLR through use of muscle functional magnetic resonance imaging, induced by an eccentric hamstring loading task between scans. Results: Significantly higher exercise-related activity was observed in the biceps femoris (BF) of athletes after ACLR compared with uninjured control athletes (13.92% vs 8.48%; P = .003), whereas the ST had significantly lower activity (19.97% vs 25.32%; P = .049). Significant differences were also established in a within-group comparison of the operated versus the contralateral leg in the ACLR group (operated vs nonoperated leg: 14.54% vs 11.63% for BF [ P = .000], 17.31% vs 22.37% for ST [ P = .000], and 15.64% vs 13.54% for semimembranosus [SM] [ P = .014]). Neither the muscle activity of SM and gracilis muscles nor total posterior thigh muscle activity (sum of exercise-related ΔT2 of the BF, ST, and SM muscles) presented any differences in individuals who had undergone ACLR with an ST tendon autograft compared with healthy controls. Conclusion: These findings indicate that ACLR with a ST tendon autograft might notably influence the function of the hamstring muscles and, in particular, their hierarchic dimensions under fatiguing loading circumstances, with increases in relative BF activity contribution and decreases in relative ST activity after ACLR. This between-group difference in hamstring muscle activation pattern suggests that the BF partly compensates for deficient ST function in eccentric loading. These alterations might have implications for athletic performance and injury risk and should probably be considered in rehabilitation and hamstring injury prevention after ACLR with a ST tendon autograft.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Elie Hajouj ◽  
Mohammad Reza Hadian ◽  
Seyed Mohsen Mir ◽  
Saeed Talebian ◽  
Farzin Halabchi ◽  
...  

Introduction: Voluntary Response Index (VRI) is used as a measure of motor control to study abnormalities of voluntary movements. This study aimed to evaluate the reliability of voluntary response index analysis in subjects with Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction (ACLR).Materials and Methods: Using surface electromyography, the VRI components of both groups of 15 ACLR and 15 healthy controls were assessed during the functional task (sit-stand-sit). The outcome variables of VRI included the magnitude and similarity index.Results: In sit to stand phase, high reliability was found (ICC=0.80-0.89) for the magnitude and similarity index in both groups. In the standing phase, high to very high reliability was found for the magnitude and similarity index in both groups (ICC=0.75-0.91). In stand to sit phase, high to very high reliability was found (ICC=0.78-0.92) for the magnitude and similarity index in both groups.Conclusion: Surface electromyographic measurements of VRI analysis demonstrated high to very high reliability in athletes with ACLR during the functional task (sit-stand-sit). The results of the current study showed that the VRI analysis in athletes after ACLR was a reliable method and can be used to evaluate motor control before and after ligament injury in these patients.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Santuz ◽  
Lars Janshen ◽  
Leon Bruell ◽  
Victor Munoz-Martel ◽  
Juri Taborri ◽  
...  

There is increasing evidence that including sex as a biological variable is of crucial importance to promote rigorous, repeatable and reproducible science. In spite of this, the body of literature that accounts for the sex of participants in human locomotion studies is small and often produces controversial results. Here, we investigated the modular organization of muscle activation patterns for human locomotion using the concept of muscle synergies with a double purpose: i) uncover possible sex-specific characteristics of motor control and ii) assess whether these are maintained in older age. We recorded electromyographic activities from 13 ipsilateral muscles of the lower limb in young and older adults of both sexes walking (young and old) and running (young) on a treadmill. The data set obtained from the 215 participants was elaborated through non-negative matrix factorization to extract the time-independent (i.e., motor modules) and time-dependent (i.e., motor primitives) coefficients of muscle synergies. We found sparse sex-specific modulations of motor control. Motor modules showed a different contribution of hip extensors, knee extensors and foot dorsiflexors in various synergies. Motor primitives were wider (i.e., lasted longer) in males in the propulsion synergy for walking (but only in young and not in older adults) and in the weight acceptance synergy for running. Moreover, the complexity of motor primitives was similar in younger adults of both sexes, but lower in older females as compared to older males. In essence, our results revealed the existence of small but defined sex-specific differences in the way humans control locomotion and that these strategies are not entirely maintained in older age.


2009 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 478-485 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.B. Prange ◽  
M.J.A. Jannink ◽  
A.H.A. Stienen ◽  
H. van der Kooij ◽  
M.J. IJzerman ◽  
...  

Background. Arm support to help compensate for the effects of gravity may improve functional use of the shoulder and elbow during therapy after stroke, but gravity compensation may alter motor control. Objective. To obtain quantitative information on how gravity compensation influences muscle activation patterns during functional, 3-dimensional reaching movements. Methods. Eight patients with mild hemiparesis performed 2 sets of repeated reach and retrieval movements, with and without unloading the arm, using a device that acted at the elbow and forearm to compensate for gravity. Electromyographic (EMG) patterns of 6 upper extremity muscles were compared during elbow and shoulder joint excursions with and without gravity compensation. Results. Movement performance was similar with and without gravity compensation. Smooth rectified EMG (SRE) values were decreased from 25% to 50% during movements with gravity compensation in 5 out of 6 muscles. The variation of SRE values across movement phases did not differ across conditions. Conclusions. Gravity compensation did not affect general patterns of muscle activation in this sample of stroke patients, probably since they had adequate function to complete the task without arm support. Gravity compensation did facilitate active arm movement excursions without impairing motor control. Gravity compensation may be a valuable modality in conventional or robot-aided therapy to increase the intensity of training for mildly impaired patients.


2021 ◽  
Vol 104 (2) ◽  
pp. 003685042110080
Author(s):  
Jeffrey W Keller ◽  
Annina Fahr ◽  
Julia Balzer ◽  
Jan Lieber ◽  
Hubertus JA van Hedel

Current clinical assessments evaluating selective voluntary motor control are measured on an ordinal scale. We combined the Selective Control of the Upper Extremity Scale (SCUES) with surface electromyography to develop a more objective and interval-scaled assessment of selective voluntary motor control. The resulting Similarity Index (SI) quantifies the similarity of muscle activation patterns. We aimed to evaluate the validity and reliability of this new assessment named SISCUES (Similarity Index of the SCUES) in children with upper motor neuron lesions. Thirty-three patients (12.2 years [8.8;14.9]) affected by upper motor neuron lesions with mild to moderate impairments and 31 typically developing children (11.6 years [8.5;13.9]) participated. We calculated reference muscle activation patterns for the SISCUES using data of 33 neurologically healthy adults (median [1st; 3rd quantile]: 32.5 [27.9; 38.3]). We calculated Spearman correlations (ρ) between the SISCUES and the SCUES and the Manual Ability Classification System (MACS) to establish concurrent validity. Discriminative validity was tested by comparing scores of patients and healthy peers with a robust ANCOVA. Intraclass correlation coefficients2,1 and minimal detectable changes indicated relative and absolute reliability. The SISCUES correlates strongly with SCUES (ρ = 0.76, p < 0.001) and moderately with the MACS (ρ = −0.58, p < 0.001). The average SISCUES can discriminate between patients and peers. The intraclass correlation coefficient2,1 was 0.90 and the minimal detectable change was 0.07 (8% of patients’ median score). Concurrent validity, discriminative validity, and reliability of the SISCUES were established. Further studies are needed to evaluate whether it is responsive enough to detect changes from therapeutic interventions.


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