High muscle co-contraction does not result in high joint forces during walking after ACL injury

What is it about?

Muscle co-contraction is often used as a surrogate for joint loading after knee injury, and may be a risk factor for osteoarthritis development. However, muscle co-contraction is a ratio of muscle forces and similar values can be derived from both high and low forces of primary muscles and their antagonists. This manuscript investigated knee gait variables among individuals after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and in healthy controls. Our findings indicate that high muscle co-contraction does not always result in high knee joint loading.

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Why is it important?

This work challenges the assumption that higher muscle co-contraction alone results in higher joint contact forces among individuals after knee injury.