Effect of Local Fatigue in Quadriceps and Hamstring Muscles on Knee Joint Proprioception in Healthy Women

Abstract

Objective Proprioception is part of the body's somatosensory system that is responsible for collecting information for the central nervous system to inform about the status of different parts of the body relative to each other. One of the cause of impared proprioception is fatigue. This study aimed to investigate the effect of quadriceps and hamstrings muscles fatigue on knee joint proprioception of healthy women. Methods Participants were 20 healthy young women aged 25-35 years who had normal knee joint range of motion and muscle strength with no any musculoskeletal disorders. Local fatigue of quadriceps and hamstring muscles was measured by a Isokinetic dynamometer. the proprioception status in knee joint was measured in both active and inactive positions using target angle reconstruction test (30, 45 and 60 degrees flexion). Results There was no significant difference between pre-test and post-test scores in local fatigue of quad-riceps and hamstring muscles at 45 degrees angle in passive condition (P>0.05), while the difference was significant at 30 and 60 degree angles in passive condition (P<0.05). Conclusion The quadriceps and hamstring muscles fatigue can reduce the knee joint proprioception, where the effect of hamstring muscle fatigue on the knee joint proprioception was higher compared to the quadriceps muscle fatigue.