SynthesisPloS one2025
The effect of adding neuromuscular electrical stimulation to exercise therapy on patellofemoral pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Effects of Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation on Cramp Threshold Frequency and Pain in Adults with Nocturnal Leg Cramps: An EMG-Based Assessment: Randomized Controlled Trial.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Effect of Electrical Stimulation of the Quadriceps Muscles in the Management of Haemophilic Knee Arthropathy.Cureus · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThis study investigated the effects of adding neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) to exercise therapy on pain, knee function, quadriceps strength, and the ratio of activation of the Vastus Medialis Oblique (VMO) to Vastus Lateralis (VL) muscles in people with Patellofemoral pain (PFP).
methodsA rigorous search for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) spanning database inception to July 1, 2024, was executed across PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Scopus. Two researchers independently screened the literature and extracted data. The Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool was used for included studies to assess risk of bias and the GRADE system was used to assess the certainty of evidence for outcomes.
resultNine randomized controlled trials, encompassing 337 participants (171 intervention, 166 control), were included in the analysis. The meta-analysis findings indicated that compared to exercise therapy alone, NMES combined with exercise therapy significantly reduces pain intensity (MD: -0.37; 95% CI: -0.64 to -0.10; P = 0.007), notable improvements in knee function (MD: 4.76; 95% CI: 2.08 to 6.84; P = 0.0002), and significantly increased quadriceps muscle strength (SMD: 0.55; 95% CI: 0.24 to 0.87; P = 0.0006). However, there was no significant impact observed on the VMO/VL ratio (SMD: 0.8; 95% CI: -0.33 to 1.93; P = 0.16). Subgroup analyses superimposed that incorporating NMES did not result in a meaningful reduction in pain intensity (MD: -0.85; 95% CI: -1.76 to 0.07; P = 0.07) or a significant improvement in quadriceps muscle strength (SMD: 0.27; 95% CI: -0.24 to 0.78; P = 0.30) when the treatment period was less than or equal to 4 weeks.
conclusionThe study's findings revealed that adding NMES to exercise therapy offers further improvement in pain intensity, knee function, and quadriceps strength in people with PFP compared with exercise therapy alone, but did not significantly improve VMO/VL ratio, and it recommended that the duration of the intervention lasts more than4 weeks for better therapeutic outcomes.
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