2023-11-27 23:07:00
AI Analysis of Knee MRIs Reveals Importance of Muscle Ratio in Preventing Knee Replacements
(HealthDay News) – Squats and lunges aren’t the most fun exercises, but a new study says they’ll help save your knees.
People with strong quadriceps that strengthen the thighs appear to be less likely to require total knee replacement, according to a presentation scheduled for Monday at a meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) in Chicago. .
Stronger muscles are generally associated with a lower rate of total knee replacement, the researchers noted in supporting notes. However, it is not clear whether people benefit more from stronger extensor muscles, such as the quadriceps, which extend the leg, or from stronger flexor muscles, such as the hamstrings, which bend the leg.
“Our study shows that in addition to individually strong muscles, larger extensor muscle groups, relative to hamstring muscle groups, are significantly associated with lower odds of total knee replacement surgery in two to four years.” said Dr. Upasana Upadhyay Bharadwaj, a radiology researcher at the University of California-San Francisco School of Medicine.
Osteoarthritis research indicates that not only strength, but also muscle balance, is essential to avoid knee surgeries freepik
About 14 million U.S. adults have knee arthritis, and more than half will eventually require knee replacement surgery, the researchers said. The quadriceps and hamstrings are of particular interest because they are the two most important muscle groups for the knee.
The quadriceps are located at the front of the thigh. They are the strongest muscle group in the body and are essential for a person’s walking, the researchers said. The hamstrings are located at the back of the thigh and are equally essential for physical activity.
“The two muscle groups act as opposing forces, and the balance between them allows for a wide range of activities while protecting the knee joint,” Upadhyay Bharadwaj said in an RSNA news release. “An imbalance, in addition to other factors, leads to a change in biomechanics that results in the progression of osteoarthritis.”
In the study, Upadhyay Bharadwaj and his colleagues evaluated the thigh muscles of 134 participants in the Osteoarthritis Initiative, a national study sponsored by the National Institutes of Health.
An imbalance in the muscle groups of the leg can lead to changes in biomechanics and result in the progression of osteoarthritis, according to experts
They compared 67 patients who had a single total knee replacement with another 67 people who had not had a knee replacement, all matched on variables such as age and sex.
AI analysis of participants’ knee MRIs revealed that a higher quadriceps to hamstring volume ratio was significantly associated with lower odds of total knee replacement, the results show.
Higher volumes of the hamstrings and gracilis (a long, thin muscle on the inner thigh) were also linked to lower odds of knee replacement.
The results suggest that training programs that focus on quadriceps strength relative to the hamstrings could be beneficial, the researchers said.
The findings of a study from the University of California suggest that specific exercises to strengthen the quadriceps may be beneficial for knee health (Illustrative image Infobae)
“Although we hypothesize that overall muscle volume is important as a surrogate marker of muscle strength, the ratio, and therefore balance, between the extensor and hamstring muscles may be more important and significantly associated with lower odds of total replacement. knee,” said Upadhyay Bharadwaj.
The findings could also help inform strength training for a broader segment of the population, he added.
“Although these results are essential for targeted therapy in a population at risk for osteoarthritis, even the general public can benefit from our results to preventively incorporate appropriate strengthening exercises,” said Upadhyay Bharadwaj.
Typically, findings presented at medical meetings are considered preliminary until they are published in a peer-reviewed journal.
More information. The Cleveland Clinic has more information on quadriceps exercises for knee arthritis.
SOURCE: Radiological Society of North America, news release, November 27, 2023
* Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporters ©The New York Times 2023
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