Muscle inhibition (MI) has been reported as one of the factors associated with muscle weakness present in osteoarthritis (OA) and chondromalacia patellae (CP), including being associated with the etiology and progression. However, there seems to be a gap in the literature regarding the review studies that assessed the degree of IM subjects affected by CP and OA. The main objective of study was bringing together the results of studies that investigated the degree of OA in the MI and CP and to identify possible differences in IM which are linked to stages of the degenerative process. We included cross-sectional and/or experimental studies published in the databases PubMed, Scopus, SciELO and Cochrane between 1990 and 2010 that evaluated the MI through interpolation twitch techniques. Data on population characteristics, MI protocol, quality of studies and MI results were summarized and presented in Tables. For quality analysis, it was used the scale PEDro. After applying the inclusion criteria, 13 articles were included in the systematic review (OA=9 and CP=4). Based on the analysis of the data, there MI>CP compared to OA. However, the variability of protocols, as well as the lack of information about the IM protocols, indicates the need for further experimental studies in order that we can determine more precisely the relationship between IM and degenerative joint diseases.
systematic review; muscle inhibition; chondromalacia patellae; osteoarthritis
