The June issue of the American Journal of Sports Medicine (AJSM) features a study that demonstrates that the addition of the Kneehab XP Quadriceps Therapy System from Neurotech, Minneapolis, significantly and positively impacts patient recovery.
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The study followed 96 patients post anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery and was conducted by H. H. Paessler at the Center for Knee and Foot Surgery, Heidelberg, Germany. The patients were randomly assigned to one of three intervention groups: standard rehabilitation (control group), traditional NMES, or the Kneehab system.
Overall, the Kneehab group achieved significantly better results at each time point compared to the traditional NMES and control groups, according to the study. Extensor strength in the Kneehab group increased by 30.2% and 27.8%, respectively, between the preoperative measurement and the 6-month follow-up point in the injured leg.
The corresponding measurements for traditional NMES were 5.1% and 5%; for the control group the measurements were 6.6% and 6.7%, respectively. The time taken to return to everyday working life among the patient subjects showed a strong, positive trend in favor of the Kneehab group as well: on average, this group returned to work in 2.7 weeks, the control group in 3.67 weeks, and the traditional NMES group in 3.88 weeks.
“The improvement measured over the control group and the conventional, two-channel NMES group is compelling for any clinician with an ACL caseload,” said Conor Minogue, technical director of research and development for Neurotech.
Introduced to the US market in early 2010, the Kneehab XP Quadriceps Therapy System is used as an adjunctive therapy device for people suffering from injuries or degenerative conditions of the knee.
Neurotech is a division of Bio-Medical Research Ltd, a provider of devices for pain relief and rehabilitative health.
[Source: Neurotech]