ReviewOrthopaedic journal of sports medicine2025
Effects of Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation on Quadriceps Femoris Muscle Strength and Knee Joint Function in Patients After ACL Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Review in Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 2 of them syntheses 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
8 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effects of electrical stimulation on lower limb function after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2026Pooled it
- The effectiveness of neuromuscular electrical stimulation on pain, function, and quadriceps muscle strength in adults with patellofemoral pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2025Pooled it
- Early-Phase Quadriceps Activation After Knee Surgery: A Narrative Review of Current Rehabilitation Interventions and Identification of an Unmet Clinical Need.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- 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
- Sensor-based assessment of the acute effects of NMES combined with weighted squats on muscle activation and lower limb joint coordination during the stop-and-cut task.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Article
- Evolution of pre- and post-operative balance characteristics in patients undergoing anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: implications for rehabilitation.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2026Article
- Relationship Between Quadriceps Neuromuscular Activity and Knee Extensor Strength at Four Months After ACL Reconstruction in High-Level Young Athletes.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2025Article
- From Past to Future: Emergent Concepts of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Surgery and Rehabilitation.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Quadriceps weakness is a common barrier to effective rehabilitation after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES)-the application of electrical currents to induce muscle contraction-has been used as part of the postoperative rehabilitation regimen. Purpose: To investigate the effects of NMES on the recovery of quadriceps strength and knee function after ACL surgery. Study Design: Systematic review; Level of evidence, 1. Methods: A search was conducted in the Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Library, and PubMed databases between inception and August 2023 according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Included were randomized controlled trials of patients undergoing NMES as postoperative rehabilitation after ACL reconstruction or repair, with standard physical therapy as the control intervention. The quality of the included studies was assessed according to the Cochrane Collaboration risk-of-bias tool. Lower limb function was assessed qualitatively, and standardized mean differences (SMDs) in muscle strength and Lysholm scores were analyzed quantitatively and pooled using a random-effects model. Results: Eleven studies (N = 202 patients) met our inclusion criteria. The meta-analysis of muscle strength values, which included 9 studies, showed that patients who underwent physical rehabilitation with adjunctive NMES had better recovery and improvement in quadriceps muscle strength compared with standard physical therapy at both short- and long-term follow-ups (≤6 weeks: SMD, 0.53 [95% CI, 0.27-0.79] vs >6 weeks: SMD, 0.59 [95% CI, 0.18-0.99]; Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that in both short- and long-term follow-up studies, postoperative rehabilitation with NMES after ACL surgery significantly increased quadriceps muscle strength compared with standard rehabilitation alone.
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Registered trials
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