[Arthrogenic muscle inhibition after trauma - is there an age dependency of the intensity of arthrogenic muscle inhibition?].

UNLABELLED: Backround: Knee trauma with arthrogenic muscle inhibition (AMI) lead to muscle weakness. The aim of this study was to analyse the intensity of AMI after meniscus and cartilage injuries and to investigate the association between age, BMI and severity of cartilage leasions with AMI.

PATIENTS AND

METHODS

48 patients with meniscus or cartilage injury were preoperatively interviewed and examined for isometric maximum force values of the extension muscles of the knee joints. We analysed AMI as comparison of maximum isometric force values between healthy and injured leg by use of Wilcoxon matched pairs test. Moreover a regression analysis was done to assess the association between age, BMI and severity of cartilage lesion with AMI.

RESULTS

Trauma of the knee joint with meniscus or cartilage injuries led to a 23.6 % reduction of maximum force values of injured in comparison to healthy leg (460.1 ± 223.6 N vs. 601.9 ± 224.6 N, P < 0,000001) in mean. Regression analysis did not show associations between age (β -2.645, P = 0.345), BMI (β 2.268, P = 0.792) or severity of cartilage damage (β -13.527, P = 0.670) with AMI.

CONCLUSIONS

Trauma of the knee joint with meniscus or cartilage damage cause an AMI with 23.6 % force reduction. We could not identify an association between age and AMI.