Intramuscular fatty infiltration and its correlation with muscle composition and function in hip osteoarthritis.

Background: Hip osteoarthritis patients display higher levels of fatty infiltration (FI) in the gluteus minimus (GM) compared to other hip muscles. We investigated specific histological factors such as fiber type composition and collagen deposition, and functional outcomes like muscle strength and activation associated with FI in these patients.

Methods: In twelve men (67 ± 6 y) undergoing total hip replacement (THR), hip and knee muscle strength and activation (electromyography, EMG) were assessed bilaterally.

Effects of Soccer Match-Play on Muscle Strength, Physical Performance, and Perceptual Responses in Elite Female Players.

Gereduz Agapito, L, Brownstein, CG, and Maffiuletti, NA. Effects of soccer match-play on muscle strength, physical performance, and perceptual responses in elite female players. J Strength Cond Res 39(1): 79-85, 2025-The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of actual soccer match-play on muscle strength, physical performance, and perceptual responses in elite female players.

Acoustical features as knee health biomarkers: A critical analysis.

Acoustical knee health assessment has long promised an alternative to clinically available medical imaging tools, but this modality has yet to be adopted in medical practice. The field is currently led by machine learning models processing acoustical features, which have presented promising diagnostic performances. However, these methods overlook the intricate multi-source nature of audio signals and the underlying mechanisms at play.

Effect of prior neuromuscular electrical stimulation of vastus lateralis on the fatigue induced by a sustained voluntary knee extension in men.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of vastus lateralis (VL) selective fatigue induced by neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) on knee extensor electromyographic (EMG) activity during a sustained submaximal isometric contraction.

Methods: Thirteen healthy men (28 ± 5 years) completed two experimental sessions in which either the VL was pre-fatigued for 17 min (NMES session) or no intervention was performed (control session, CTRL). Subsequently, participants were asked to sustain an isometric knee extension at 20 % of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) torque until task failure.

Hip and Groin Problems in Female Team-Sport Athletes: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Hip and groin problems are common among team-sport athletes. However, few studies have been conducted in female athletes that have used the Doha Agreement classification system to categorize these problems.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the preseason point prevalence of hip and groin problems in elite female team-sport athletes.

Motor Point as an Alternative to Femoral Nerve Stimulation for the Assessment of Quadriceps Muscle Inhibition in Healthy Women.

Context: The evaluation of quadriceps muscle inhibition with the interpolated twitch technique is usually performed by stimulating the femoral nerve (FN). However, there are some problems related to the use of this stimulation site, which may be partially overcome by delivering the stimulation over the motor point (MP). This study sought to compare MP to FN stimulation at different joint angles for the evaluation of quadriceps muscle inhibition, resting peak torque, and discomfort in healthy women.

Assessment of hip abductor and adductor muscle strength with fixed-frame dynamometry: Considerations on the use of bilateral and unilateral tasks.

Objective: To examine the specificities and limitations of bilateral and unilateral tasks for the assessment of hip abductor and adductor strength with a commercially-available fixed-frame dynamometer.

Design: Correlational/validity study.

Methods: Maximal voluntary isometric strength of hip abductors and adductors was evaluated in 130 healthy participants using unilateral and bilateral tasks.

Dose-response effect of pre-exercise carbohydrates under muscle glycogen unavailability: Insights from McArdle disease.

Background: This study aimed to determine the effect of different carbohydrate (CHO) doses on exercise capacity in patients with McArdle disease-the paradigm of "exercise intolerance", characterized by complete muscle glycogen unavailability-and to determine whether higher exogenous glucose levels affect metabolic responses at the McArdle muscle cell (in vitro) level.

Methods: Patients with McArdle disease (n = 8) and healthy controls (n = 9) underwent a 12-min submaximal cycling constant-load bout followed by a maximal ramp test 15 min after ingesting a non-caloric placebo. In a randomized, double-blinded, cross-over design, patients repeated the tests after consuming either 75 g or 150 g of CHO (glucose:fructose = 2:1).

Gamification of Physical Therapy Exercises Using Commercial Entertainment Content: A Safety and Feasibility Study.

Independent physiotherapy at home is a crucial element of rehabilitative care for a wide range of conditions as it constitutes a large portion of the overall therapy dose. However, up to 80% of individuals who are prescribed at-home physiotherapy do not consistently adhere to their treatment schedule, resulting in poor treatment outcomes. This is likely due to a lack of motivation and progress tracking in the current standard of care.

Electrical stimulation for investigating and improving neuromuscular function in vivo: Historical perspective and major advances.

This historical review summarizes the major advances - particularly from the last 50 years - in transcutaneous motor-level electrical stimulation, which can be used either as a tool to investigate neuromuscular function and its determinants (electrical stimulation for testing; EST) or as a therapeutic/training modality to improve neuromuscular and physical function (neuromuscular electrical stimulation; NMES). We focus on some of the most important applications of electrical stimulation in research and clinical settings, such as the investigation of acute changes, chronic adaptations and pathological alterations of neuromuscular function with EST, as well as the enhancement, preservation and restoration of muscle strength and mass with NMES treatment programs in various populations. For both EST and NMES, several major advances converge around understanding and optimizing motor unit recruitment during electrically-evoked contractions, also taking into account the influence of stimulation site (e.

Hip muscle strength in male and female patients with femoroacetabular impingement syndrome: Comparison to healthy controls and athletes.

Objectives: To examine hip muscle strength deficits in patients with femoroacetabular impingent syndrome (FAIS), with special emphasis on potential sex- and comparison-related (between-subject vs within-subject) differences.

Design: Cross-sectional comparative study.

Participants: Forty FAIS patients (20 women), 40 healthy controls (20 women) and 40 athletes (20 women).

Wide-pulse electrical stimulation of the quadriceps allows greater maximal evocable torque than conventional stimulation.

Purpose: The effectiveness of a neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) program has been shown to be proportional to the maximal evocable torque (MET), which is potentially influenced by pulse characteristics such as duration and frequency. The aim of this study was to compare MET between conventional and wide-pulse NMES at two different frequencies.

Methods: MET-expressed as a percentage of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) torque-and maximal tolerable current intensity were quantified on 71 healthy subjects.

Sex-Specific Differences in Hip Muscle Cross-sectional Area and Fatty Infiltration in Patients With Femoroacetabular Impingement Syndrome.

Background: Patients with femoroacetabular impingement syndrome (FAIS) show sex-specific differences in hip muscle function, hip morphology, and symptoms. Possible differences in hip muscle characteristics between men and women with FAIS are unknown.

Purpose: To compare hip muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) and fatty infiltration between men and women with FAIS and investigate possible associations with patient-reported outcomes.

MME fibro-adipogenic progenitors are the dominant adipogenic population during fatty infiltration in human skeletal muscle.

Fatty infiltration, the ectopic deposition of adipose tissue within skeletal muscle, is mediated via the adipogenic differentiation of fibro-adipogenic progenitors (FAPs). We used single-nuclei and single-cell RNA sequencing to characterize FAP heterogeneity in patients with fatty infiltration. We identified an MME FAP subpopulation which, based on ex vivo characterization as well as transplantation experiments, exhibits high adipogenic potential.

Acute Effects of Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation on Contralateral Plantar Flexor Neuromuscular Function.

Contralateral facilitation, i.e., the increase in contralateral maximal voluntary strength that is observed when neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) is applied to the ipsilateral homonymous muscle, has previously been reported for the knee extensors but the neurophysiological mechanisms remain to be investigated.

Impaired Modulation of Motor and Functional Performance in Patients after Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Prospective Observational Study.

Submaximal levels of effort are required for the performance of the most common daily tasks. Inaccuracy in modulating motor outputs during submaximal tasks has been reported as indicator of safety during daily activities in subjects with lower limb musculoskeletal disorders. The study is aimed at investigating performance modulation ability during motor and functional tasks in patients after total knee arthroplasty (TKA).

Peripheral muscle function during repeated changes of direction in professional soccer players.

Purposes: To evaluate peripheral muscle function of the knee extensors during repeated changes of direction in professional soccer players by examining differences between competitive levels, periods of the season and playing positions, and to investigate the relationships between peripheral muscle function and physical activities during matches.

Methods: Knee extensor peripheral muscle function (twitch peak torque, PT) of 593 male soccer players from 13 European professional clubs competing at 3 different levels was evaluated 4 times during the season. The main outcomes were PT (maximal PT, muscle contractility), MP (maximal metabolic power exercise intensity) and PT (PT decline, muscle fatigability) obtained during intermittent runs of increasing intensity with multiple changes of direction interspersed with electrically evoked contractions.

Maximal vs. explosive knee extensor strength in professional soccer players: inter-limb asymmetries and relationship with knee function.

The main aims of this study were to compare the magnitude of inter-limb asymmetry (ILA) and the relation with self-reported knee function between maximal and explosive knee extensor strength outcomes in professional soccer players. Forty-six male soccer players completed different maximal isokinetic and isometric contractions of the knee extensors for the assessment of maximal strength (peak torque and maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) torque) and explosive strength (early, intermediate, late, and peak rate of torque development (RTD)). Self-reported knee function was assessed with the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) and Lysholm knee scoring scales.

Mid-term outcomes of exercise therapy for the non-surgical management of femoroacetabular impingement syndrome: are short-term effects persisting?

Objectives: To investigate the mid-term outcomes of exercise therapy in patients with femoroacetabular impingement syndrome (FAIS).

Design: Follow-up study.

Setting: Clinical setting.

Non-inferiority of a home-based videoconference physical training program in comparison with the same program administered face-to-face in healthy older adults: the MOTION randomised controlled trial.

Background: older adults often fail to reach the recommended amount of physical activity to prevent the age-related decline in metabolic, cardiorespiratory and muscular function. Effective home-based physical training programs could neutralise barriers preventing older adults from being active, and administration/supervision through videoconference may be an optimal solution. The present randomised controlled trial aimed to test the non-inferiority of training program administered through videoconference against the same program administered face-to-face in healthy older adults.

Home-Based Nonoperative-Side Quadriceps Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation Prevents Muscle Weakness Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction.

We compared the effectiveness of a home-based neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) program applied to the quadriceps of the nonoperative side against sham-NMES as a complement to standard rehabilitation on knee extensor neuromuscular function in patients following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Twenty-four patients completed the 6 week NMES ( = 12) and sham-NMES ( = 12) post-operative interventions and were tested at different time points for neuromuscular function and self-reported knee function. Isometric, concentric, and eccentric strength deficits (muscle weakness) increased significantly from pre-surgery to 24 weeks post-surgery in the sham-NMES group ( < 0.