Rapid repetitive passive movement improves knee proprioception

Background: Proprioception can be affected by many factors including exercise. Most exercises involve certain degrees of repeated passive movements, and different velocities of these movements might affect proprioception differently. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influences of different angular velocities of repeated passive movement on knee proprioception via active repositioning and kinesthesia measurement. Methods: A quasi-experimental design with repeated measure on movement velocity (0°/s, 2°/s, 90°/s, and 150°/s). Sixteen healthy young adults participated in the study. All of them received 30 times repeated passive knee movement intervention in four different knee angular velocities - 0°/s, 2°/s, 90°/s, and 150°/s - with counter-balanced sequence in four successive days. Knee active repositioning and kinesthesia were measured with error scores before and after the intervention. Findings: The results revealed a decrease in error scores in both active repositioning and kinesthesia measurement with the velocities of 90°/s and 150°/s (p < 0.05); however no significant change was seen with the static condition (0°/s ) or with the velocity of 2°/s. Interpretation: We concluded that repeated passive movement with rapid angular velocities was capable of improving knee proprioception, specifically in active repositioning and kinesthesia measurements. These results would provide information on the effects of different movement velocities onto knee proprioception. Along with further investigations, the findings could potentially enhance our knowledge on knee injury prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation.