Neuromuscular efficiency of the vastus lateralis and biceps femoris muscles in individuals with anterior cruciate ligament injuries

To analyze strength and integrated electromyography (IEMG) data in order to determine the neuromuscular efficiency (NME) of the vastus lateralis (VL) and biceps femoris (BF) muscles in patients with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries, during the preoperative and postoperative periods; and to compare the injured limb at these two times, using the non-operated limb as a control. EMG data and BF and VL strength data were collected during three maximum isometric contractions in knee flexion and extension movements. The assessment protocol was applied before the operation and two months after the operation, and the NME of the BF and VL muscles was obtained. There was no difference in the NME of the VL muscle from before to after the operation. On the other hand, the NME of the BF in the non-operated limb was found to have increased, two months after the surgery. The NME provides a good estimate of muscle function because it is directly related to muscle strength and capacity for activation. However, the results indicated that two months after the ACL reconstruction procedure, at the time when loading in the open kinetic chain within rehabilitation protocols is usually started, the neuromuscular efficiency of the VL and BF had still not been reestablished.

Lombalgia equina: diagnóstico e tratamento

Low back pain is considered a major cause of lameness and performance decay, but identify the location of the lesions and quantify the intensity of pain is difficult because often the most obvious clinical sign, in some cases, is not the pain itself, but, low athletic performance. The diagnosis and treatment of this disease are associated with a high cost and have a strong impact on the equine industry, since it results in direct economic losses. The diagnosis of low back pain is made through physical examination and additional tests, including radiography, ultrasound, thermography and blockades. Major injuries causing back pain in horses is the contact or overlap of the spinous processes, supraspinous desmitis, osteoarthritis of the articular processes, vertebral body lesions and myositis. Therapeutic measures used in the treatment of these diseases are systemic inflammatory steroid, local infiltration, acupuncture, chiropractic, physical therapy, changes in training and surgeries.