Jo Hyeon-Deok, Kim Maeng-Kyu
Sports Science Research Institute, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea.
Sports Medicine Lab, Department of Physical Education, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea.
J Exerc Rehabil. 2025 Apr 30;21(2):79-91. doi: 10.12965/jer.2550086.043. eCollection 2025 Apr.
Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) leads to quadriceps neuromuscular dysfunction, including impaired force control and muscle degradation. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) is widely used in rehabilitation to improve muscle mass and strength; however, its effects on neuromuscular functions and muscle quality, such as motor unit (MU) behavior and force steadiness (FS), remain unclear. This study investigated the effects of NMES on neuromuscular function and muscle quality in individuals with ACLR who could walk normally. Ten male ACLR patients underwent NMES 3 times weekly for 6 weeks, with 30 contractions per session. Neuromuscular function was assessed via FS, maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC), and MU behavior in the rectus femoris and vastus lateralis. Muscle quality was evaluated using muscle thickness (MT), echo intensity (EI), and ultrasound texture features. Measurements were taken at baseline and weeks 3 and 6. NMES significantly improved MVIC, FS, MU behavior, and muscle quality (MT, EI, and homogeneity) on the ACLR side, with significant interaction effects observed. At week 3, MVIC and FS showed no significant improvement; however, structural and qualitative muscle changes were evident. NMES effectively enhanced neuromuscular function, MU behavior, and muscle quality impaired by ACLR. However, a 3-week intervention may not be sufficient for optimal neuromuscular recovery, highlighting the need for extended NMES protocols.
前交叉韧带重建术（ACLR）会导致股四头肌神经肌肉功能障碍，包括力量控制受损和肌肉退化。神经肌肉电刺激（NMES）在康复治疗中被广泛用于增加肌肉量和提高肌肉力量；然而，其对神经肌肉功能和肌肉质量（如运动单位（MU）行为和力量稳定性（FS））的影响仍不明确。本研究调查了NMES对能够正常行走的ACLR患者的神经肌肉功能和肌肉质量的影响。10名男性ACLR患者每周接受3次NMES治疗，共6周，每次治疗进行30次收缩。通过FS、最大自主等长收缩（MVIC）以及股直肌和股外侧肌的MU行为来评估神经肌肉功能。使用肌肉厚度（MT）、回声强度（EI）和超声纹理特征来评估肌肉质量。在基线、第3周和第6周进行测量。NMES显著改善了ACLR侧的MVIC、FS、MU行为和肌肉质量（MT、EI和均匀性），观察到显著的交互作用。在第3周时，MVIC和FS没有显著改善；然而，肌肉的结构和质量变化明显。NMES有效增强了因ACLR受损的神经肌肉功能、MU行为和肌肉质量。然而，为期3周的干预可能不足以实现最佳的神经肌肉恢复，这突出了延长NMES方案的必要性。
