Prospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Apr 6, 2021; 9(10): 2247-2258
Published online Apr 6, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i10.2247
Effect of suspension training on neuromuscular function, postural control, and knee kinematics in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction patients
Dong-Dong Huang, Liang-Hua Chen, Zhe Yu, Quan-Jun Chen, Jie-Nuan Lai, Hai-Hong Li, Gang Liu
Dong-Dong Huang, Liang-Hua Chen, Zhe Yu, Quan-Jun Chen, Jie-Nuan Lai, Hai-Hong Li, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510630, Guangdong Province, China
Gang Liu, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, Guangdong Province, China
Author contributions: Liu G conceived the study and edited the manuscript; Yu Z, Chen QJ, and Lai JN performed the exercise training, conducted assessment before and after the intervention, and collected all outcome data; Huang DD and Chen LH analyzed the results and prepared and edited the manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the institutional review board of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University.
Clinical trial registration statement: This clinical trial was registered on clinicaltrials.gov (ID: ChiCTR1900024073). Details can be found at http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=37626.
Informed consent statement: All study participants provided written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: We have no conflicts of interest to report.
Data sharing statement: The datasets used or analyzed during the study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
CONSORT 2010 statement: The authors have read the CONSORT 2010 Statement, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CONSORT 2010 Statement.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Gang Liu, PhD, Professor, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, No. 1838 Guangzhou Dadao North, Guangzhou 510515, Guangdong Province, China. lg2781@smu.edu.cn
Received: October 21, 2020
Peer-review started: October 21, 2020
First decision: December 3, 2020
Revised: December 14, 2020
Accepted: January 27, 2021
Article in press: January 27, 2021
Published online: April 6, 2021
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Suspension training (SET) is a method of neuromuscular training that enables the body to carry out active training under unstable support through a suspension therapy system. However, there have been few reports in the literature on the application of SET to anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) patients. It is not clear what aspects of the patient's function are improved after SET.

AIM

To investigate the effect of SET on the neuromuscular function, postural control, and knee kinematics of patients after ACLR surgery.

METHODS

Forty participants were randomized to an SET group or a control group. The SET group subjects participated in a SET protocol over 6 wk. The control group subjects participated in a traditional training protocol over 6 wk. Isokinetic muscle strength of the quadriceps and hamstrings, static and dynamic posture stability test, and relative translation of the injured knee were assessed before and after training.

RESULTS

The relative peak torque of the quadriceps and hamstrings in both groups increased significantly (P < 0.001), and the SET group increased by a higher percentage than those in the control group (quadriceps: P = 0.004; hamstrings: P = 0.011). After training, both groups showed significant improvements in static and dynamic posture stability (P < 0.01), and the SET group had a greater change than the control group (P < 0.05). No significant improvement on the relative translation of the injured knee was observed after training in either group (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Our findings show that SET promotes great responses in quadriceps and hamstring muscle strength and balance function in ACLR patients.

Keywords: Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, Suspension training, Neuro-muscular function, Postural control, Knee kinematics, Rehabilitation

Core Tip: In our study, suspension training (SET) was applied to anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) post-rehabilitation as a new sports training method. First, this study provides the first evidence for the feasibility of SET in ACLR rehabilitation. Second, this study presents a detailed and ACLR-targeted SET program. Further, we demonstrated the effect of the SET on neuromuscular function, postural control, and knee kinematics in ACLR patients.