2025 ISAKOS Biennial Congress ePoster
Resuming Sports At Pre-Injury Level Correlates More To Patients' Perceived Knee Status And Psychological Readiness Than To Functional Ability In Athletes After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Surgery.
Claudio Legnani, MD, Milano ITALY
Matteo Del Re, MD, Milan ITALY
Giuseppe Michele Peretti, Milano ITALY
Enrico Borgo, MD, Albairate, Milano ITALY
Alberto Ventura, MD, Milan ITALY
IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Galeazzi, Milan, Italy, ITALY
FDA Status Cleared
Summary
An improvement in jumping ability was seen 12 months following ACL reconstruction, while six months after surgery, lower limb asymmetries persisted. Psychological outcomes did not affect the ability to perform vertical jumps one year after ACL surgery. Higher values of subjective knee score and psychological readiness predicted return to sport at preinjury level, while no correlation was reported
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Abstract
Background
Apart from the widely utilized patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), recently there has been a surge in research that examines psychological readiness and functional performance as valuable indicators for a successful return to sport at the pre-injury level following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstructive surgery. Tests for vertical jumps have shown to be a reliable way to identify functional asymmetries between limbs and evaluate knee biomechanics through the measurement of explosive strength, power, and reactivity.
Objectives: This study aimed to assess the functional and clinical outcomes of athletes who underwent ACL reconstruction up to a year after surgery, find correlations between functional and subjective tests, and identify factors that affect patients' ability to return to pre-injury sports.
Design and Methods: 37 patients who underwent ACL reconstruction were prospectively assessed pre-operatively, 6, and 12 months after surgery using International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) Subjective Knee Form, Tegner activity level, and the ACL–Return to Sport after Injury (ACL-RSI) scale. Jumping ability was instrumentally assessed by an infrared optical acquisition system using a test battery including mono- and bipodalic vertical jumps, and a side-hop test.
Results
Thirty-three patients (89%) were available for clinical evaluation at follow-up. Average age at surgery was 34.0 years (SD 11.5). Mean overall IKDC, and ACL-RSI scores increased from preoperatively (P<0.001). Jump tests showed improvements at 12-month evaluation compared to 6-month follow up (p<0.01), but not compared to baseline (p=n.s.). No statistically significant correlation was reported for ACL-RSI and jump tests (p=n.s.). No differences were observed in terms of jumps between patients who returned to pre-injury activity level and those who did not (p=n.s.). Patients who returned to pre-injury activity level reported higher IKDC and ACL-RSI scores (p<0.05).
Conclusions
An improvement in jumping ability was seen 12 months following ACL reconstruction, while six months after surgery, lower limb asymmetries persisted. Psychological outcomes did not affect the ability to perform vertical jumps one year after ACL surgery. Higher values of subjective knee score and psychological readiness predicted return to sport at preinjury level, while no correlation was reported concerning jumping performance.