Factors, characteristics and influences of the changes of muscle activation patterns for patients with knee osteoarthritis: a review

作者：Shizhong Liu, Zuyu Du, Lie-Xi Song, Haoyue Liu, Clarence Augustine T. H. Tee, Huanyu Liu, Yuan Liu · 发表于：Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1186/s13018-025-05484-x · 被引用次数：28 · 研究领域：Osteoarthritis Treatment and Mechanisms、Total Knee Arthroplasty Outcomes、Muscle activation and electromyography studies

BACKGROUND: Knee Osteoarthritis (KOA) is a prevalent condition worldwide, significantly diminishing quality of life and productivity. Except for the alignment change, muscle activation patterns (MAP) have garnered increasing attention as another crucial factor contributing to KOA. OBJECTIVE: This study explores the factors, characteristics, and effects of MAP changes caused by KOA, providing a neuromuscular-based causal analysis for the rehabilitation treatment of KOA. METHODS: Keywords including the association of MAP with KOA will be included. "Knee, Osteoarthritis, Electromyography(EMG), Muscle Activity patterns, activation amplitudes, activation time, Muscle Synergy, Co-contraction/activation" were used to search the databases of Science Direct, PubMed, Scopus, and Wiley. The criteria include studies from the past fifteen years that document changes in muscle contraction characteristics and causality analysis in patients with KOA. we compared MAP changes between individuals with and without KOA, such as the activation amplitudes, activation time, muscle synergy and co-contraction index(CCI). Additionally, we explored the potential relationship between muscle weakness, pain, and lower limb mechanical changes with the variations of MAP. RESULTS: A total of 832 articles were reviewed, and 44 articles that met the inclusion criteria were selected for analysis. The changes in biomechanical structure, pain, and muscle atrophy may contribute to the formation and progression of t...