The Clinical Utility of Thigh Circumferential Measurement in Association with Quadriceps Limb Symmetry.
Aubrey N Krahn, Jill K Monson, Robert F LaPrade and 2 others
PMID 40469653WHAT IT FOUND
After knee ligament surgery, side-to-side thigh circumference difference and quadriceps limb symmetry moved together, but not strongly.
Thigh bulk includes tissues other than quadriceps muscle.
Key findings
01Patients had a mean thigh circumference difference of 2.53 cm and a mean quadriceps limb symmetry index of 66.88%.
02Thigh circumference difference had a moderate positive relationship with quadriceps limb symmetry index (r = 0.36, r2 = 0.13, p = 0.003).
03The study included 67 patients tested at an average of 6.47 months after single or multi-ligament knee reconstruction.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
All patients came from one orthopedic surgeon's post-operative population, so results may not apply to other surgical settings. Testing occurred only at about six months after surgery, so it does not describe earlier or later recovery. Thigh circumference was measured while the patient lay supine with the muscle relaxed, which may differ from standing or contracted measurement. The measurement location, 15 cm proximal to the medial joint line, may not represent true thigh bulk for all limb lengths. Graft type, sex, and meniscal injury were not analyzed separately. Neural inhibition, fat or muscle mass differences, and other contributors were not assessed. A single outlier was removed from the data set.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The IRB approval details were blinded for submission.
The easy way to misread this
Do not use thigh circumference alone to judge quadriceps strength or readiness to return to sport. The study found only a moderate relationship, and thigh bulk includes tissues other than quadriceps muscle.