Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25299442›Full record

Trial reportJournal of athletic training

Quadriceps muscle function after rehabilitation with cryotherapy in patients with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.

Joseph M Hart, Christopher M Kuenze, David R Diduch, Christopher D Ingersoll

Abstract readComparative StudyRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal of athletic training. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
25citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

25 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  9. The incidence of arthrogenic muscle inhibition in acute knee injuries: a prospective cohort study in a tertiary acute knee unit.Asia-Pacific journal of sports medicine, arthroscopy, rehabilitation and technology · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Joseph M HartUniversity of Virginia, Charlottesville;
Christopher M Kuenze
David R Diduch
Christopher D Ingersoll

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

contextPersistent muscle weakness after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction may be due to underlying activation failure and arthrogenic muscle inhibition (AMI). Knee-joint cryotherapy has been shown to improve quadriceps function transiently in those with AMI, thereby providing an opportunity to improve quadriceps muscle activation and strength in patients with a reconstructed ACL.

objectiveTo compare quadriceps muscle function in patients with a reconstructed ACL who completed a 2-week intervention including daily cryotherapy (ice bag), daily exercises, or both.

designCross-sectional study.

settingLaboratory. PATIENTS OR OTHER

participantsA total of 30 patients with reconstructed ACLs who were at least 6 months post-index surgery and had measurable quadriceps AMI. INTERVENTION(S): The patients attended 4 supervised visits over a 2-week period. They were randomly assigned to receive 20 minutes of knee-joint cryotherapy, 1 hour of therapeutic rehabilitation exercises, or cryotherapy followed by exercises. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): We measured quadriceps Hoffmann reflex, normalized maximal voluntary isometric contraction torque, central activation ratio using the superimposed-burst technique, and patient-reported outcomes before and after the intervention period.

resultsAfter the 2-week intervention period, patients who performed rehabilitation exercises immediately after cryotherapy had higher normalized maximal voluntary isometric contraction torques (P = .002, Cohen d effect size = 1.4) compared with those who received cryotherapy alone (P = .16, d = 0.58) or performed exercise alone (P = .16, d = 0.30).

conclusionsAfter ACL reconstruction, patients with AMI who performed rehabilitation exercises immediately after cryotherapy experienced greater strength gains than those who performed cryotherapy or exercises alone.

Indexed as

Muscle WeaknessPostoperative ComplicationsQuadriceps MuscleAdolescentAdultAnkleAnkle JointAnterior Cruciate LigamentAnterior Cruciate Ligament InjuriesAnterior Cruciate Ligament ReconstructionBiomechanical PhenomenaCross-Sectional StudiesCryotherapyExercise TherapyFemaleHumansarthrogenic muscle inhibitiondisinhibitionkneetherapeutic exercises

Identifiers

PMID25299442
PMCPMC4264644

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.