Trial reportClinical interventions in aging2014
The effects of exercise and neuromuscular electrical stimulation in subjects with knee osteoarthritis: a 3-month follow-up study.
Trial report in Clinical interventions in aging, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04792307 (Feasibility RCT of Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation; an Intervention to Maintain and Improve neuroMuscular Function During Periods of Immobility), which is not on this map. Cited by 9 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Feasibility RCT of Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation; an Intervention to Maintain and Improve neuroMuscular Function During Periods of Immobility
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 55 citations in OpenAlex.
- Understanding Exercise-Induced Hypoalgesia: An Umbrella Review of Scientific Evidence and Qualitative Content Analysis.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Pooled it
- Adjunctive therapies in addition to land-based exercise therapy for osteoarthritis of the hip or knee.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Strengthening the quadriceps femoris muscle versus other knee training programs for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis.Rheumatology international · 2019Pooled it
- The effectiveness of 6-week superimposed neuromuscular electrical stimulation in knee osteoarthritis: an assessor blinded randomized controlled clinical trial.Archives of orthopaedic and trauma surgery · 2025Trial
- A controlled randomized trial with a 12-week follow-up investigating the effects of medium-frequency neuromuscular electrical stimulation on pain, VMO thickness, and functionality in patients with knee osteoarthritis.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2024Trial
- A Novel Mobile App-based Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation Therapy for the Management of Knee Osteoarthritis: Results From an Extension Study of a Randomized, Double-blind, Sham-controlled, Multicenter Trial.Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews · 2022Trial
- A Novel Mobile App-Based Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation Therapy for Improvement of Knee Pain, Stiffness, and Function in Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Trial.Arthroplasty today · 2022Article
- Influence of Isometric Exercise Combined With Electromyostimulation on Inflammatory Cytokine Levels, Muscle Strength, and Knee Joint Function in Elderly Women With Early Knee Osteoarthritis.Frontiers in physiology · 2021Article
- Eccentric training combined to neuromuscular electrical stimulation is not superior to eccentric training alone for quadriceps strengthening in healthy subjects: a randomized controlled trial.Brazilian journal of physical therapyArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundStrengthening exercises of the quadriceps femoris muscle (QFM) are beneficial for patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Studies reporting short-term effects of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) of the QFM in this population support the use of this modality as an adjunct treatment. The objectives of this follow-up study are to compare the effects of an exercise program with and without NMES of the QFM on pain, functional performance, and muscle strength immediately posttreatment and 12 weeks after completion of the intervention.
methodsSixty-three participants with knee OA were randomly assigned into two groups receiving 12 biweekly treatments: An exercise-only program or an exercise program combined with NMES.
resultsA significantly greater reduction in knee pain was observed immediately after treatment in the NMES group, which was maintained 12 weeks postintervention in both groups. Although at this stage NMES had no additive effect, both groups demonstrated an immediate increase in muscle strength and in functional abilities, with no differences between groups. Although the improvements in gait velocity and in self-report functional ability were maintained at the follow-up session, the noted improvements in muscle strength, time to up and go, and stair negotiation were not maintained.
conclusionSupplementing an exercise program with NMES to the QFM increased pain modulation immediately after treatment in patients with knee OA. Maintenance of the positive posttreatment effects during a 12-week period was observed only for pain, self-reported functional ability, and walk velocity, with no difference between groups. CLINICAL REHABILITATION EFFECT: The effects of a comprehensive group exercise program with or without NMES are partially maintained 12 weeks after completion of the intervention. The addition of NMES is recommended primarily for its immediate effect on pain. Further studies are necessary to determine the effects of repeated bouts of exercise with and without NMES in this population.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.