This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Oldham, J. Articles by Tallis, R. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Oldham, J. Articles by Tallis, R. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Electrotherapeutic rehabilitation of the quadriceps in elderly osteoarthritic patients: a double blind assessment of patterned neuromuscular stimulation

Department of Nursing, University of Manchester

TE Howe

Department of Geriatric Medicine, Hope Hospital, Manchester

T. Petterson

Department of Geriatric Medicine, Hope Hospital, Manchester

GP Smith

Department of Geriatric Medicine, Hope Hospital, Manchester

RC Tallis

Department of Geriatric Medicine, Hope Hospital, Manchester

Recent studies, in combination with advances in modern electronics, suggest a role for electrotherapy in reversing muscle wasting. However, its effects on human subjects are not always clear-cut. The authors propose that conventional uniform frequency stimulation may deprive the muscle of adaptive information normally encoded in the nonuniform discharge of its motoneuron. This hypothesis was tested in a double blind control trial by stimulating the quadriceps femoris (QF) of elderly subjects with osteoarthritis of the knee. A stimulation pattern replicating that occurring in a normal, fatigued QF motor unit (patterned neuromuscular stimulation) was compared with uniform stimulation of the same mean frequency and random pattern stimulation (created by shuffling the order of the interpulse intervals in the replicated stimulus train). A'sham' stimulation protocol provided an effective placebo. Subjects were assessed at the level of impairment (muscle strength, endurance and cross-sectional area), disability (timed 10-metre walk, timed sit-to-stand) and handicap (part II of the Nottingham Health Profile).

Following stimulation, some descriptive improvements in outcome measures were observed in favour of PNMS, particularly in functional tests such as walking speed and sit-to-stand time. No stimulation pattern emerged as being significantly better than another, although statistically significant (p 0.05) differences between individual stimulation patterns were observed at a number of assessment weeks.

Clinical Rehabilitation, Vol. 9, No. 1, 10-20 (1995)
DOI: 10.1177/026921559500900102


CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S.E. Lamb, F. Toye, and K.L. Barker Chronic disease management programme in people with severe knee osteoarthritis: efficacy and moderators of response Clinical Rehabilitation, February 1, 2008; 22(2): 169 - 178. [Abstract] [PDF]

				Philadelphia Panel Members, Clinical Specialty Experts, J. Albright, R. Allman, R. P. Bonfiglio, A. Conill, B. Dobkin, A. A Guccione, S. Hasson, R. Russo, et al. Philadelphia Panel Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guidelines on Selected Rehabilitation Interventions for Knee Pain Physical Therapy, October 1, 2001; 81(10): 1675 - 1700. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Callaghan and J. Oldham An evaluation of exercise regimes for patients with osteoarthritis of the knee: a single-blind randomized controlled trial Clinical Rehabilitation, August 1, 1995; 9(3): 213 - 218. [Abstract] [PDF]