An innovative concept for an old therapy

Muscle weakness and decreased functional capacity are common after knee surgery. Recovery duration and success strongly depend on post-surgery rehabilitation. Although neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) therapy has been used for more than 30 years for muscle rehabilitation and strengthening after orthopedic surgery, there is no consensus on the optimal application of this therapy. Several studies have investigated the NMES effectiveness for different orthopedic surgeries but the present literature remains equivocal; various approaches to NMES application have been taken and only two studies have met consistent criteria for Cochrane meta-analysis (1).