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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2020 Jun 29;17(13):4669.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph17134669.

Acute Effects of Open Kinetic Chain Exercise Versus Those of Closed Kinetic Chain Exercise on Quadriceps Muscle Thickness in Healthy Adults

Soul Cheon  1   2 , Joo-Hyun Lee  1 , Hyung-Pil Jun  3 , Yong Woo An  4 , Eunwook Chang  1   2
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Acute Effects of Open Kinetic Chain Exercise Versus Those of Closed Kinetic Chain Exercise on Quadriceps Muscle Thickness in Healthy Adults

Soul Cheon et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

This study aimed to compare immediate changes in the thickness of the rectus femoris (RF), vastus intermedius (VI), vastus lateralis (VL), vastus medialis (VM), and vastus medialis oblique (VMO) muscles after open kinetic chain exercise (OKCE) and closed kinetic chain exercise (CKCE) and identify the effect of both exercise types on each quadricep muscle for early rehabilitation to prevent knee joint injury. Twenty-six healthy participants (13 males and 13 females) were randomly divided into the OKCE (n = 13) and CKCE (n = 13) groups. The thickness of their quadriceps muscles was measured using a portable ultrasonic imaging device before and after exercise in the sequence RF, VI, VL, VM, and VMO. A two-way repeated measures analysis of variance was used to compare the thickness of each component of the quadriceps muscles between the two groups. The thickness of the RF, VL, VM, and VMO muscles increased after OKCE, and the thickness of the VI muscle showed the greatest increase with a medium-large effect size (F = 8.52, p = 0.01, and d = 0.53). The thickness of the VI, VL, VM, and VMO muscles increased after CKCE, and the VMO muscle had the largest effect size (F = 11.71, p = 0.00, and d = 1.02). These results indicate that the thickness of the quadriceps muscles can be selectively improved depending on the type of exercise.

Keywords: muscle hypertrophy; quadriceps atrophy; resistance exercise; type of exercise; vastus intermedius; vastus medialis; vastus medialis oblique.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Overview of the study design, demonstrating the muscle thickness pre- and post-measurement.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Location of quadriceps thickness measurement. RF: rectus femoris; VI: vastus intermedius; VL: vastus lateralis; VM: vastus medialis; VMO: vastus medialis oblique.
Figure 3
Figure 3
OKCE and CKCE exercise. OKCE: (A) leg extension; (B) short-arc; (C) leg raise. CKCE: (D) squat—Smith machine; (E) lunge—Smith machine; (F) leg press.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Image of the thickness of the quadriceps muscles. RF: rectus femoris; VI: vastus intermedius; VL: vastus lateralis; VM: vastus medialis; VMO: vastus medialis oblique.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Comparison of the changes in quadricep muscle thickness. OKCE: open kinetic chain exercise, CKCE: closed kinetic chain exercise, RF: rectus femoris; VI: vastus intermedius; VL: vastus lateralis; VM: vastus medialis; VMO: vastus medialis oblique. * p < 0.05 indicates a significant difference between pre- and post-intervention within the group.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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