2025 ISAKOS Congress in Munich, Germany

2025 ISAKOS Biennial Congress Paper


The Sparta Science Force Plate is Reliable in Assessment of Recovery Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

William Thomas Wilson, MBChB BSc(MedSci) FRCS (Tr&Orth) MFSEM(UK), Kilmarnock, Scotland UNITED KINGDOM
Julian A. Feller, FRACS, FAOrthA, Melbourne, VIC AUSTRALIA
Haydn Klemm, BFSc&Nutr (Hons), Richmond, VIC AUSTRALIA
Lachlan Batty, FRACS, Melbourne, VIC AUSTRALIA
Julia Caroline Kirby, MBBS, MSpMed, FRACS (Orth), FAOrthoA, Northcote, VIC AUSTRALIA
Kate E. Webster, PhD, Bundoora, Victoria AUSTRALIA

Orthosport Victoria, Melbourne, VIC, AUSTRALIA

FDA Status Cleared

Summary

The Sparta Science platform is reliable when used to assess patients recovering from ACL reconstruction

Abstract

The Sparta Science force plate provides kinetic information derived from movements such as vertical jump and balance tests. It has primarily been utilised to assess fitness amongst athletic and military populations. The outputs from this system may be useful in the assessment of return to sport (RTS) readiness following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. The aim of this study was to determine the reliability of the Sparta Science metrics in ACL reconstruction patients and to compare these results with the healthy population data provided by the Sparta system.

Patients undergoing primary ACL reconstruction were recruited prospectively to undergo testing at 9 months postoperatively. Those with a history of ipsilateral or contralateral knee injury, or concomitant multiligament knee injury requiring surgery were excluded. Testing included knee laxity assessment, hop tests, isokinetic strength testing using a dynamometer, and then kinetic measures using the Sparta force plate. The force plate tests included double and single leg vertical jump tests and balance tasks, with each test repeated after a 5-minute rest period. Metrics such as jump height, and the Sparta-derived kinetic profiles including load, explode and drive were recorded and analysed. These metrics represent the ability to create, transfer and apply force efficiently during the jumping phase, from initiation of movement to take-off. Balance tests were analysed using mean sway velocity and two Sparta derived scores; balance and control. Intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) were calculated to determine relative reliability. Scaled t-scores were used to compare between ACL reconstructed and healthy population data from the Sparta platform.

A total of 74 patients were recruited, 44 (60%) males and the mean age was 25(±9) years. Hamstring autograft was used in 55 (74%) patients and quadriceps tendon in 19 (26%). The mean pre-injury Marx score was 13.1(±3.4) with 54% of participants playing high-level competitive sport. The mean follow-up time to testing was 9.9(±1.7) months postoperatively.
The Sparta Science derived metrics showed moderate to excellent reliability for double leg (ICC 0.75-0.97) and single leg vertical jumps (ICC 0.81-0.95), as well as balance assessments (ICC 0.71-0.81). The ACL reconstruction cohort exhibited lower kinetic t-scores compared to the healthy population for double and single leg vertical jump tests. Conversely, t-scores were greater than the population mean for the balance tests. Jump height and explode scores were significantly lower for operated knees compared to the uninjured side (p<0.001) in the single leg jump test, while no difference was observed for load and drive scores. In both jump tasks, jump height, explode and drive scores were found to significantly correlate with performance in hop tests and quadriceps and hamstring strength.

The Sparta Science platform is reliable when used to assess patients recovering from ACL reconstruction with ICCs showing moderate to excellent reliability for test-retest repeatability. We identified kinetic deficiencies in the vertical jump test performance of patients following ACL reconstruction and showed that these results correlate with other methods of RTS testing. The results demonstrate the Sparta system's potential as a reliable, accessible and cost-effective option to augment traditional testing methods.