Although they’re not the most enjoyable exercises, lunges and squats may save your knees, according to a recent study.
A presentation at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) meeting in Chicago on Monday suggests that people who have strong quadriceps building up their thighs may be less likely to need a total knee replacement.
Researchers noted in background notes that stronger muscles are generally linked to a lower rate of total knee replacement.
It’s unclear, though, if having stronger flexor muscles—like the hamstrings, which bend the leg—or extensor muscles—like the quadriceps, which extend the leg—benefits people more.
According to Dr. Upasana Upadhyay Bharadwaj, a research fellow in radiology at the University of California-San Francisco School of Medicine, “Our study demonstrates that in addition to strong muscles individually, 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.”
According to researchers, over half of the 14 million adults with knee arthritis in the United States will eventually need knee replacement surgery.
Since the quads and hamstrings are the two major muscle groups that support the knee, they are of special importance.
On the front of the thigh are the quadriceps. According to researchers, they are the body’s strongest muscle group and are crucial to a person’s gait.
Located on the rear of the thigh, the hamstrings are just as important for physical activity.
Upadhyay Bharadwaj stated in an RSNA news release that “the two muscle groups act as counter forces, and the balance between them enables a wide range of activities while protecting the knee joint.” “In addition to other contributing factors, an imbalance alters the biomechanics, which accelerates the development of osteoarthritis.”
The thigh muscles of 134 participants in the Osteoarthritis Initiative, a national study funded by the National Institutes of Health, were assessed for the study by Upadhyay Bharadwaj and her colleagues.
They compared 67 patients who had a total knee replacement to 67 other individuals who had not had a knee replacement; all of the groups were matched for age and other characteristics.
A higher quadriceps to hamstring volume ratio was found to be significantly associated with a lower risk of total knee replacement, according to an AI analysis of the participants’ knee MRIs.
Reduced risk of knee replacement was also associated with larger volumes of the gracilis, a long, thin muscle on the inside of the thigh, and hamstrings.
According to the findings, training regimens emphasizing quad strength in relation to hamstring strength may be advantageous, the researchers said.
“While we believe that total muscle mass is significant as a proxy for muscle strength, the balance, or ratio, between the hamstring and extensor muscles may be more significant and substantially associated with lower odds of total knee replacement,” according to Upadhyay Bharadwaj.
She went on to say that the results might also help guide strength training for a larger population.
Even the general public can benefit from our results to preventively incorporate appropriate strengthening exercises, according to Upadhyay Bharadwaj. “While these results are essential for targeted therapy in a population at risk for osteoarthritis,” she said.
Results that are presented at conferences for medicine are usually regarded as preliminary until they are published in a peer-reviewed publication.
