Trial reportJournal of athletic training2016
Immediate Effect of Patterned Electrical Neuromuscular Stimulation on Pain and Muscle Activation in Individuals With Patellofemoral Pain.
Trial report in Journal of athletic training, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 26 citations in OpenAlex.
- Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) for patellofemoral pain syndrome.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2017Pooled it
- Study of the electromyographic activity in patellofemoral pain syndrome accompanied by secondary myofascial pain syndrome specifically affecting the popliteus muscle following dry needling: a randomized clinical trial.The Journal of manual & manipulative therapy · 2025Trial
- Impairment-Based Rehabilitation With Patterned Electrical Neuromuscular Stimulation and Lower Extremity Function in Individuals With Patellofemoral Pain: A Preliminary Study.Journal of athletic training · 2019Trial
- Effects of Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation of Gluteus Medius Muscle on Hip Function and Sleep Quality in Patients With Sleep Disorders After Hip Arthroplasty.Actas espanolas de psiquiatria · 2026Article
- Local and Contralateral Effects after the Application of Neuromuscular Electrostimulation in Lower Limbs.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Can the Use of Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation Be Improved to Optimize Quadriceps Strengthening?Sports healthReview
- 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
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
contextFor individuals with patellofemoral pain (PFP), altered muscle activity and pain are common during functional tasks. Clinicians often seek interventions to improve muscle activity and reduce impairments. One intervention that has not been examined in great detail is electrical stimulation.
objectiveTo determine whether a single patterned electrical neuromuscular stimulation (PENS) treatment would alter muscle activity and pain in individuals with PFP during 2 functional tasks, a single-legged squat and a lateral step down.
designCohort study.
settingSports medicine research laboratory. PATIENTS OF OTHER
participantsA total of 22 individuals with PFP (15 women, 7 men; age = 26.0 ± 7.9 years, height = 173.8 ± 8.1 cm, mass = 75.1 ± 17.9 kg). INTERVENTION(S): Participants were randomized into 2 intervention groups: a 15-minute PENS treatment that produced a strong motor response or a 15-minute 1-mA subsensory (sham) treatment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Before and immediately after the intervention, we assessed normalized electromyography amplitude, percentage of activation time across functional tasks, and onset of activation for the vastus medialis oblique, vastus lateralis, gluteus medius, adductor longus, biceps femoris, and medial gastrocnemius muscles during a single-legged squat and a lateral step down. Scores on the visual analog scale for pain were recorded before and after the intervention.
resultsAfter a single treatment of PENS, the percentage of gluteus medius activation increased (0.024) during the lateral step down. Visual analog scores decreased during both the single-legged squat (PENS: preintervention = 2.7 ± 1.9, postintervention = 0.9 ± 0.7; sham: preintervention = 3.2 ± 1.6, postintervention = 2.8 ± 1.9; group × time interaction: P = .041) and lateral step down (PENS: preintervention = 3.4 ± 2.4, postintervention = 1.1 ± 0.8; sham: preintervention = 3.9 ± 1.7, postintervention = 3.3 ± 2.0; group × time interaction: P = .023). No changes in electromyography or pain measures were noted in the sham group.
conclusionsThe PFP participants who received PENS had immediate improvement in gluteus medius activation and a reduction in pain during functional tasks.
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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.