scholarly journals Eight-Months After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: Is It Time to Return to Physical Activity?

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (121) ◽  
pp. 21-27
Author(s):  
Saulė Salatkaitė ◽  
Laimonas Šiupšinskas ◽  
Renata Žumbakytė-Šermukšnienė ◽  
Rimtautas Gudas

Background. Return to participation in sport is an important outcome when evaluating the success of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction surgery. A review by Arden et al. (2014) demonstrates that just because an athlete has surgery, it does not automatically mean that they will return to sport. So, the purpose of this study was to assess if patients could return to their pre-injury activity level 8 months after ACLR. Methods. Patients completed IKDC-2000, ACL-RSI questionnaires, underwent FMS, YBT, HOP test sets and drop jump tests, which were evaluated with the LESS. ACL laxity was measured by using a GNRB® device. Participants were 81 patients. They were divided into two groups based on single leg HOP test results. The first group included 30 persons who all had their four single leg HOP test scores above 90%. The second group consisted of 51 persons for whom at least one of the single leg HOP tests scored lower than 90%. Results. IKDC and HOP test results in the first group scored higher than in the second group. Psychological confidence was higher in the first group, who had better HOP test results. For the first group, FMS and LESS results were better than those for the second group. Moderate positive correlation was found between LESS scores and laxity results, FMS, three HOP sub-tests. IKDC had the biggest number of correlations with other tests. Results showed negative and weak correlation with laxity results using 134 N power, as well as positive and moderate correlation with HOP sub-tests, FMS, ACL-RSI. Single HOP for distance, triple HOP for distance, crossover HOP for distance and LESS increased the odds of achieving RTS criteria. No other factors were found to be associated with the accomplishment of reaching RTS criteria after ACLR. Conclusions. The main factor which can help decide if a person can return to their pre-injury level of physical activity are the single leg HOP test and LESS. The use of single leg HOP tests and LESS along with psychological and self-reported evaluations is the best test combination for assessment 8 months after ACLR. Keywords: ACL reconstruction, function tests, return to play, jump tests, psychological readiness.

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (6_suppl3) ◽  
pp. 2325967118S0004
Author(s):  
F García-Bol ◽  
V Posada-Franco ◽  
A Roldán-Valero ◽  
R Del Caño-Espinel

Hop Tests (unipodal horizontal jumps) have been recommended as one of the reliable assessment tests when allowing a return to competition for a sportsperson after an anterior cruciate ligament injury1,2,3,4. Currently, comparison is made of the results with the contralateral limb through the symmetry index, a method which might not provide sufficient security upon the return to competitive sport5. Hop tests can be used in preseason to gain reference values prior to a possible injury. The objective of this review is to analise the scientific literature such as the F-Marc6 (reference manual of FIFA) to confirm whether include said tests in preseason for football teams. A search was conducted in the Pubmed y Cochrane databases (17/04/17) with the search terms “Hop Test”, “Football”, “Soccer”, and “Preseason”. Articles in English and Spanish were both accepted. Articles excluded were those that did not make reference to the knee, to football, and those that did not conduct tests during preseason. From a total of 33 articles, 4 with these search criteria were included, 5 articles were added trough the bibliography of other studies, and the F-Marc manual was analised. 4 of the articles used the hop tests in preseason for some type of study, of which 3 were used as part of a prospective assessment for the season. On the other hand, the F-Marc does not consider Hop Tests as an assessment test. Hop tests were not found to be used in preseason as reference values prior to possible future injuries, data which could be beneficial for a safe return to sport. Harris J, Abrams G, Bach B, Williams D, Heidloff D, Bush-Joseph C, Verma N, Forsythe B, Cole B. Return to Sport After ACL Reconstruction. ORTHOPEDICS. 2014; 37: e103-e108. Barber-Westin SD, Noyes FR. Factors used to determine return to unrestricted sports activities after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Arthroscopy. 2011 Dec;27(12):1697-705. Thomeé R, Kaplan Y, Kvist J, Myklebust G, Risberg MA, Theisen D, Tsepis E, Werner S, Wondrasch B, Witvrouw E. Muscle strength and hop performance criteria prior to return to sports after ACL reconstruction. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 2011 Nov;19(11):1798-805. Bolgla LA, Keskula DR. Reliability of lower extremity functional performance tests. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 1997 Sep;26(3):138-42. Wellsandt E, Failla MJ, Snyder-Mackler L. Limb Symmetry Indexes Can Overestimate Knee Function After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2017 Mar 29:1-18. F-MARC. Football Medicine Manual. 2nd Edition. Available from: http://f-marc.com . 2017.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Damien Murphy ◽  
Quinette A. Louw ◽  
Colum Moloney ◽  
Dominique Leibbrandt ◽  
Amanda M. Clifford

Purpose: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are among the most severe injuries in the Gaelic Athletic Association. Hop tests measure functional performance after ACL reconstruction as they replicate the key requirements for a match situation. However, research examining functional recovery of ACL-reconstructed Gaelic athletes is lacking. The objective of this study is to determine if athletes restore normal hop symmetry after ACL reconstruction and to examine if bilateral deficiencies persist in hop performance following return to sport. Methods: A cross-sectional design was used to evaluate hop performance of 30 ACL-reconstructed Gaelic athletes who had returned to competition and 30 uninjured controls in a battery of hop tests including a single, 6-m, triple, and triple-crossover hop test. Results: In each test, the mean symmetry score of the ACL reconstruction group was above the cutoff for normal performance of 90% adopted by this study (98%, 99%, 97%, and 99% for the single, 6-m, triple, and triple-crossover hop, respectively). No significant differences in absolute hop scores emerged between involved and control limbs, with the exception of the single-hop test where healthy dominant limbs hopped significantly further than ACL-reconstructed dominant limbs (P = .02). No significant deficits were identified on the noninvolved side. Conclusions: The majority of ACL-reconstructed Gaelic athletes demonstrate normal levels of hop symmetry after returning to competition. Suboptimal hop performance can persist on the involved side compared with control limbs. Targeted rehabilitation may be warranted after returning to competition to restore performance to levels of healthy uninjured athletes.


2007 ◽  
Vol 87 (3) ◽  
pp. 337-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Reid ◽  
Trevor B Birmingham ◽  
Paul W Stratford ◽  
Greg K Alcock ◽  
J Robert Giffin

Background and Purpose Although various hop tests have been proposed as performance-based outcome measures following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction, limited reports of their measurement properties exist. The purpose of this study was to investigate the reliability and longitudinal validity of data obtained from hop tests during rehabilitation after ACL reconstruction. Subjects Forty-two patients, 15 to 45 years of age, who had undergone ACL reconstruction participated in the study. Methods and Measures The study design was prospective and observational with repeated measures. The subjects performed a series of 4 hop tests on 3 separate occasions within the 16th week following surgery and on a fourth occasion 6 weeks later. The tests were a single hop for distance, a 6-m timed hop, a triple hop for distance, and crossover hops for distance. Performance on the ACL-reconstructed limb was expressed as a percentage of the performance on the nonoperative limb, termed the “limb symmetry index.” Subjects also completed the Lower Extremity Functional Scale and a global rating of change questionnaire. Results Intraclass correlation coefficients for limb symmetry index values ranged from .82 to .93. Standard errors of measurement were 3.04% to 5.59%. Minimal detectable changes, at the 90% confidence level, were 7.05% to 12.96%. Changes in hop test scores on the operative limb were statistically greater than changes on the nonoperative limb. Pearson correlations (r) between change in hop performances and self-reported measures ranged from .26 to .58. Discussion and Conclusion The results show that the described series of hop tests provide a reliable and valid performance-based outcome measure for patients undergoing rehabilitation following ACL reconstruction. These findings support the use and facilitate the interpretation of hop tests for research and clinical practice.


2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (7) ◽  
pp. 1657-1664 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jelle P. van der List ◽  
Frans J.A. Hagemans ◽  
Dirk Jan Hofstee ◽  
Freerk J. Jonkers

Background: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears can either be treated nonoperatively with physical therapy and then treated operatively if persistent instability is present, or be directly treated operatively. Advantages of early ACL reconstruction surgery include shorter time from injury to surgery and potentially fewer meniscal injuries, but performing early ACL reconstruction in all patients results in surgery in patients who might not need ACL reconstruction. It is important to assess in which patients nonoperative treatment is successful and which patients will require ACL reconstruction and thus might be better treated surgically in an earlier phase. Purpose: To identify patient characteristics that predict the success of nonoperative treatment. Study Design: Cohort study (Prognosis); Level of evidence, 2. Methods: All patients with complete ACL injuries who were evaluated between 2014 and 2017 at our clinic were included. The minimum follow-up was 2 years. The initial treatment and ultimate ACL reconstruction were reviewed. Univariate analysis was performed using Mann-Whitney U tests and chi-square tests and multivariate analysis using binary logistic regression. Results: A total of 448 patients were included with a median age of 26 years and median Tegner level of 7 and mean Tegner level of 6.4. At initial consultation, 210 patients (47%) were treated nonoperatively with physical therapy and 126 of these patients (60%) ultimately required ACL reconstruction. Nonoperative treatment failed in 88.9% of patients <25 years of age, 56.0% of patients 25 to 40 years, and 32.9% of patients >40 years ( P < .001); and 41.9% of patients with Tegner level 3 to 6, and 82.8% of patients with Tegner level 7 to 10. Age <25 years (odds ratio [OR], 7.4; P < .001) and higher Tegner levels (OR, 4.2; P < .001) were predictive of failing nonoperative treatment in multivariate analysis. Patients in the failed nonoperative group had longer time from diagnosis to surgery than the direct reconstruction group (6.2 vs 2.2 months; P < .001), and more frequently had new meniscal injuries (17.4% vs 3.1%; P < .001) at surgery. Conclusion: Nonoperative treatment of ACL injuries failed in 60% of patients and was highly correlated with age and activity level. In patients aged 25 years or younger or participating in higher-impact sports, early ACL reconstruction should be considered to prevent longer delay between injury and surgery, as well as new meniscal injuries.


2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (09) ◽  
pp. 875-883 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Meheux ◽  
Robert Jack ◽  
Patrick McCulloch ◽  
David Lintner ◽  
Joshua Harris

AbstractThis study performs a systematic review to determine (1) if a significant difference exists in return to preinjury activity level between one- and two-stage treatment of combined anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and patellar tendon (PT) tears; and (2) if a significant difference exists in the number of postoperative complications between the two differing surgical treatment approaches. A systematic review was performed using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and registered on PROSPERO. MEDLINE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, SCOPUS, and Sport Discus were searched for English language level I–IV evidence studies on either one- (simultaneous) or two-stage (sequential) surgical treatment of simultaneously sustained ipsilateral ACL and PT tears. The approach to initial evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes were qualitatively analyzed. Methodological quality assessment of all included studies was completed using the Methodological Index for Non-randomized Studies (MINORS). The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) tool was used to assess quality of evidence and provide strength of recommendation. Statistical analyses were done using Fischer's exact test. Eleven articles (18 patients; 83% males; mean age, 31.1 ± 10.1 years; mean follow-up, 2.2 ± 1.7 years; and mean MINORS 7.8/16) were analyzed. Eight patients had a one-stage procedure (primary PT repair and ACL reconstruction), and 10 patients underwent a two-stage procedure (primary PT repair first followed by ACL reconstruction) with mean 28 ± 45.7 weeks (5 weeks–3 years) between surgeries. The rate for return to preinjury activity level after surgery was not significantly different between one- (88%) and two-stage (100%) (p = 0.444). There was a significantly higher complication rate (p = 0.023) in the one-stage (stiffness, instability, and patella baja) versus two-stage surgery (no complications). There was no significant difference in return to preinjury activity level between one- and two-stage PT repair and ACL reconstruction. However, the one-stage combined surgery had a significantly higher complication rate compared with two-stage surgery. The level of evidence is IV.


2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (7) ◽  
pp. 1567-1573 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan D. Schilaty ◽  
Nathaniel A. Bates ◽  
Thomas L. Sanders ◽  
Aaron J. Krych ◽  
Michael J. Stuart ◽  
...  

Background: Second anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears after reconstruction occur at a reported rate of 20% to 30%. This high frequency indicates that there may be factors that predispose an athlete to graft failure and ACL tears of the contralateral knee. Purpose: To determine the incidence of second ACL injuries in a geographic population-based cohort over a 10-year observation period. Study Design: Descriptive epidemiological study. Methods: International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision (ICD-9) codes relevant to the diagnosis of an ACL tear and the procedure code for ACL reconstruction were searched across the Rochester Epidemiology Project, a multidisciplinary county database, between the years of 1990 and 2000. This cohort of patients was tracked for subsequent ACL injuries through December 31, 2015. The authors identified 1041 patients with acute, isolated ACL tears. These patients were stratified by primary and secondary tears, sex, age, activity level, side of injury, sex by side of injury, and graft type. Results: Of the 1041 unique patients with a diagnosed ACL tear in Olmsted County, Minnesota, from 1990 to 2000, there were 66 (6.0%) second ACL tears; 66.7% of these tears occurred on the contralateral side. A second ACL injury was influenced by graft type ( P < .0001), election of ACL reconstruction ( P = .0060), and sex by side of injury ( P = .0072). Nonparametric analysis of graft disruption by graft type demonstrated a higher prevalence of second ACL tears with allografts compared with hamstring ( P = .0499) or patellar tendon autografts ( P = .0012). Conclusion: The incidence of second ACL tears in this population-based cohort was 6.0%, with 66.7% of these tears occurring on the contralateral side from the original injury. There was a high population incidence of second ACL injuries in female patients younger than age 20 years. The utilization of patellar tendon autografts significantly reduced the risk of second ACL injuries compared with allografts or hamstring autografts in this cohort.


Author(s):  
Jagdeesh P. C. ◽  
Suhail R. Shaikh

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> Various techniques and graft types are now available for the reconstruction of ACL. Opinions differ among experts with regard to the ideal technique and graft type to be used. Arthroscopic anatomical ACL reconstruction using quadrupled hamstring autograft with fixation in the femoral tunnel using tightrope and in the tibial tunnel with interference screw is a relatively new technique. Purpose of this study is to analyze the postoperative outcome in our experience with this procedure.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> This was a prospective study of patients with ACL injury who underwent Arthroscopic anatomical ACL reconstruction using quadrupled hamstrings autograft. All patients were operated upon by the same surgeon and had the same rehabilitation protocol. They were followed up for six months at regular intervals using IKDC, LGS scoring systems, tegner activity scale and a subjective questionnaire.<strong></strong></p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> About 95% of the patients had a favorable outcome as per three scoring systems. (IKDC, Lysholm score, subjective questionnaire) all three scoring system had a very high correlation around 90% of individuals were able to return to their pre injury activity level.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> We conclude that the functional outcome of arthroscopic anatomical anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using quadrupled hamstrings tendon autograft is excellent to good (95%). With proper patient selection and rehabilitation full occupational and recreational activities can be expected for most of the patients within four to six months of the procedure.</p>


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Paul J. Read ◽  
Theodosia Palli ◽  
Jon L. Oliver

Context: Single-leg hop tests are used to assess functional performance following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Recording 6-m timed hop scores using a stopwatch increases the potential for misclassification of patient status due to the number of error sources present. Objective: To examine the consistency of pass/fail (>90% limb symmetry index [LSI]) decisions in athletes tested at discharge following ACL reconstruction during the 6-m timed hop and the agreement between different human raters using a stopwatch and an electronic timing system. Setting: Clinic, rehabilitation. Participants: A total of 20 professional soccer players (age 24.6 [4.2] y; height 175.3 [10.2] cm; mass 73.6 [14.5] kg; 36 [10.5] wk following ACL reconstruction) volunteered to take part in this study. Main Outcome Measures: Two individual raters recorded each trial of the 6-m timed hop test on each limb with a stopwatch and an electronic timing system acted as the criterion measure. LSI scores were also computed with a pass score >90% LSI. Results: No significant differences were observed between limbs for any scoring method (P > .05). Mean differences indicated the electronic timing system was slower than both human raters (P < .05). Five participants failed the test (<90% LSI) but on each occasion this was only recorded by one method of rating. Kappa statistics showed no agreement in LSI scores across all 3 methods of scoring (κ = −.13) and no agreement when comparing the light gates to individual raters and rater 1 versus 2 (κ < 0). 95% limits of agreement in LSI scores recorded values of approximately ±20%. Conclusions: The 6-m timed hop test recorded using a stopwatch is not a valid measure to make clinical decisions following ACL reconstruction. Systematic bias between methods also suggests that a stopwatch and electronic timing system cannot be used interchangeably.


2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 785-791 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Stańczak ◽  
Marzenna Zielińska ◽  
Marek Synder ◽  
Marcin Domżalski ◽  
Michał Polguj ◽  
...  

Objective This prospective randomized study was performed to compare the outcomes of two operative methods of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction based on either bone–patellar tendon–bone (BTB) grafts or hamstring tendon (HT) grafts. Methods Among 100 patients, 96 completed the full follow-up period and were included in the final analysis (48 in the BTB group and 48 in the HT group). The patients were evaluated preoperatively and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after ACL reconstruction. The Kujala score, Tegner score, and Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) were among the parameters used to evaluate the patients. Results Both groups were comparable in terms of sex, age, and body mass index. None of the analyzed scores were significantly different between the BTB and HT groups at either the initial or last visit. Both groups demonstrated improvement at the 12-year follow-up according to the Kujala score and most categories of the KOOS. The Tegner activity level score showed significant improvement in the HT but not BTB group. Conclusion Patients undergoing ACL reconstruction with BTB and HT grafts show comparable improvement in functional results after 1 year of rehabilitation.


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