Effects of electrical muscle stimulation combined with XXXX after knee ligament surgery.

@entity1 @entity121 @entity2472
The aim of the present study is to compare the effect of electrical muscle stimulation combined with @entity2472 with a program only with @entity2472 during immobilization in casts after anterior cruciate ligament surgery. Twenty-three @entity1 , 7 @entity1 and 16 @entity1 with a mean age of 28 yr, were randomized into two groups: an experimental group (13 @entity1 ) and a control group (10 @entity1 ). Post-operatively, the @entity1 were immobilized for 3 wk in a full leg cast with the knee flexed at an angle of 20 degrees to 30 degrees and then in a knee cast for another 3 wk. All @entity1 had a standard program with @entity121 . In addition, the experimental group received electrical stimulation of the @entity121 4 X 10 min, 3 times.wk-1, at a frequency of 30 Hz. During each stimulation, the @entity1 were requested to contract the @entity121 voluntarily as well. When pre-operative measurements were compared with those at the end of the immobilization period (6 wk after the operation), a significantly larger reduction in the knee extension isometric muscle strength was found for the control group than for the experimental group. In comparisons of the data of the male subjects only, this difference was still seen to be significant. The cross-sectional area of the @entity121 measured with computed tomography was significantly less reduced during the immobilization period in the experimental group than in the control group.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
