Trial reportPM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitation2018
Evaluation of the Combined Application of Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation and Volitional Contractions on Thigh Muscle Strength, Knee Pain, and Physical Performance in Women at Risk for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Trial report in PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitation, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02802878 (Determining the Effects of the Combined Application of Electrical Stimulation and Volitional Contractions on Muscle Strength and Knee Pain and Function in Women With or at Risk for Knee Osteoarthritis), which is not on this map. Cited by 8 papers.
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.
Determining the Effects of the Combined Application of Electrical Stimulation and Volitional Contractions on Muscle Strength and Knee Pain and Function in Women With or at Risk for Knee Osteoarthritis
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- The effects of combining electrical stimulation of the calf and thigh muscles on WOMAC pain in knee osteoarthritis: A double-blind, randomised, sham-controlled trial.Osteoarthritis and cartilage open · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Osteoarthritis: Epidemiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment.MedComm · 2026Review
- Single-injection hyaluronic acid treatment demonstrates non-inferiority in the relief of symptomatic knee osteoarthritis: A randomized double-blind, multi-center controlled study.Osteoarthritis and cartilage open · 2026Article
- Exercise for Osteoarthritis: A Literature Review of Pathology and Mechanism.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2022Review
- Article
- Expression of MiR-140 and MiR-199 in Synovia and its Correlation with the Progression of Knee Osteoarthritis.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2020Article
- Hypergravity as a gravitational therapy mitigates the effects of knee osteoarthritis on the musculoskeletal system in a murine model.PloS one · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundKnee osteoarthritis (OA) is a leading cause of disability that is associated with quadriceps weakness. However, strengthening in people with or with risk factors for knee OA can be poorly tolerated.
objectiveTo assess the efficacy of a 12-week low-load exercise program, using a hybrid training system (HTS) that uses the combination of neuromuscular electrical stimulation and volitional contractions, for improving thigh muscle strength, knee pain relief, and physical performance in women with or with risk factors for knee OA.
designRandomized, single-blinded, controlled trial.
settingExercise training laboratory.
participantsForty-two women 44-85 years old with risk factors for knee OA.
interventionsParticipants randomized to 12 weeks of biweekly low-load resistance training with the HTS or on an isokinetic dynamometer (control). OUTCOMES: Maximum isokinetic knee extensor torque. Secondary measures included maximum isokinetic knee flexor torque, knee pain (Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score), and timed 20-m walk and chair stand tests.
resultsThe HTS and control treatments resulted in muscle strengthening, decreased knee pain, and improved physical performance. HTS group quadriceps and hamstring strength increased by 0.06 ± 0.04 Nm/kg (P > .05) and 0.05 ± 0.02 Nm/kg (P = .02), respectively. Control group quadriceps and hamstring strength increased by 0.03 ± 0.04 Nm/kg (P > .05) and 0.06 ± 0.02 Nm/kg (P = .009), respectively. Knee pain decreased by 11.9 ± 11.5 points (P < .001) for the HTS group and 14.1 ± 15.4 points (P = .001) for the control group. The 20-m walk time decreased by 1.60 ± 2.04 seconds (P = .005) and 0.95 ± 1.2 seconds (P = .004), and chair stand time decreased by 4.8 ± 10.0 seconds (P > .05) and 1.9 ± 4.7 seconds (P > .05) in the HTS and control groups, respectively. These results did not differ statistically between the HTS and control groups.
conclusionsThese results suggest the HTS is effective for alleviating pain and improving physical performance in women with risk factors for knee OA. However, the HTS does not appear to be superior to low-load resistance training for improving muscle strength, pain relief, or physical function. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT02802878. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: I.
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Registered trials
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.