Participate in Research
Using State-of-the-Art Technology to ‘Map’ your muscle health to better understand ‘why’ muscles weaken after knee injuries
Overview
Individuals who injure their knee, in particular tear the anterior cruciate ligament, commonly experience extended weakness of the front thigh (quadriceps) muscles. Quadriceps weakness can make it difficult to be physically active and increases a person’s risk for osteoarthritis. However, we are still unsure ‘why’ the quadricep muscles become weaker after an ACL tear and solving this mystery might open the door to new treatments to prevent this weakness.
Objectives
The purpose of this study is to assess the health of the quadriceps muscle 6-24 months after ACL reconstruction and compare this to uninjured individuals.
Who can participate?
We are currently recruiting two different groups of people, both between the ages of 19-30 and both men and women.
Group 1: People who are recreational or competetive athletes (across any activity or sport) who have never injured their knee.
Group 2: People who have experienced an anterior cruciate ligament tear, that was surgically reconstructed (commonly called ACL reconstruction).
What is required?
To determine eligibility, you will be asked to fill out a 1-minute survey (click here), this will be followed up with a 10-15 minute conversation with a study team member to confirm your eligibility. After enrollment, we will ask you to complete a 10-15 minute online survey to learn about you and your exercise habits. Then we will ask you to attend two, 2-hour, in-person sessions at the University of British Columbia-Vancouver Campus. The visits must be a minimum of 7-days apart.
Visit 1: Will include knee muscle strength, power, and activation testing as well as leg muscle function testing and bioelectrical impedance scan.
Visit 2: Will include a dual-x-ray absorptiometry (body composition) scan, and bilateral quadriceps ultrasound studies and muscle biopsies (small piece of muscle tissue taken).
Compensation:
- Parking on campus will be paid for by the study (2 hours, each visit)
- Participants will be compensated for their time and muscle sample at the end of the second visit.
- Participants will receive all data once it is available and collated
To register your interest in our study, please complete the eligibility form by clicking here.
This study has been approved by the University of British Columbia Clinical Review Ethics Board (CREB H22-01839)
Who is on the Research Team?
Jackie Whittaker, PT, PhD, Research Scientist, Arthritis Research Canada, Associate Professor, Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia
Cameron Mitchell, PhD, Assistant Professor, School of Kinesiology, Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia
Michael Hunt, PT, PhD, Professor, Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia
Fabio Rossi, PhD, School of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of British Colmubia
Marine Theret, PhD, Post-Doctoral Fellow, School of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of British Columbia
Michael Koehle, MD, PhD, Professor, School of Kinesiology, Faculty of Education, Division of Sport & Exercise Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia
Jess Polley, MD, Sport and Exercise Medicine Fellow, Division of Sport & Exercise Medicine & Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia
Justin Losciale, PT, DPT, PhD Candidate, University of British Columbia
Allyson Schweitzer, MSc, PhD Student, University of British Columbia
Brunce Lin, MSc, PhD Student, University of British Columbia
John Yan MSc Student, University of British Columbia
Thomas Scarr, PT, Clinician Partner, Allan McGavin Sports Medicine Clinic
Musculoskeletal Health, Sport and Exercise Lab
Department of Physical Therapy
2211 Wesbrook Mall
Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z3
Tel: 604 822 8225
Email: j.losciale@ubc.ca
