Why muscle strengthening exercises should target the quadriceps and gluteus maximus in patients with knee osteoarthritis?: Effects of knee pain on muscle volume and fatty degeneration based on AI-assisted cross-sectional analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Sarcopenia, characterized by age-related muscle loss, traditionally presents as systemic muscle atrophy. However, knee osteoarthritis (OA) patients often exhibit localized quadriceps muscle atrophy, suggesting a potential pain-related mechanism distinct from classical sarcopenia. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between knee OA pain and selective muscle atrophy, particularly focusing on its role as a potential aggravating factor for sarcopenia.

Methods

Eighty-nine patients scheduled for unilateral primary total knee arthroplasty were analyzed. Preoperative computed tomography was used to compare muscle volume and intramuscular adipose tissue (IMAT) proportion between the more painful limb (Group 1) and the contralateral, less painful limb (Group 2)

SUBMITTER: Lee DK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12269464 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature