ACL injuries continue to be one of the most common and devastating sports injuries. Despite the long and extensive rehabilitation process, rates of re-injury range from 3-22% for an operated ACL and 3-24% for the contralateral ACL in the first 5 years after surgery. Due to these numbers, many athletes never return to their sport. A recent systematic review was published by a group of ACL experts in order to help develop evidence-based guidelines for rehabilitation following ACL reconstruction. Topics they examined included:
- Preoperative factors that can effect recovery;
- Effectiveness of physical therapy;
- Benefits of specific exercises;
- Return to play guidelines;
- Risk for re-injury.
Preoperative factors
Many athletes will start doing physiotherapy prior to surgery in order to strengthen the knee. The above researchers found that quadriceps weakness, as well as extension deficit (not being able to reach 0 degrees of extension or more) prior to surgery, will have a negative consequence on the rehabilitation process post-surgery. Don’t tell yourself these issues will get “fixed” with surgery, prehab is essential to guarantee a successful post-surgery outcome.
Strength and Neuromuscular training
There are many exercise programs designed for ACL injuries. What exactly should you be focusing on? Strengthening, proprioception and neuromuscular training are vital, especially for return to sport. For some ideas on where you should be focusing, please read our earlier blog, here.
Modalities
Most physiotherapy clinics use a variety of different modalities with their patients, but which ones are most useful post ACL?
Muscle stimulation has been shown to be effective when combined with exercise. The muscle stimulation will help activate the muscles, which are either too weak to engage, or are inhibited due to pain and/or swelling. The machine helps turn on the muscle during exercise, and the patient is encouraged to work with it to help regain strength. In addition, cryotherapy has been shown to help with acute pain and swelling.
Return to Play
Return to sport rehabilitation should focus on plyometrics and agility, as well as take off and landing mechanics. A series of different tests need to be performed in order to determine readiness to return to sport. These tests should assess strength, balance, and proprioception, as well as functional sport patterns. It is essential that both the injured and uninjured knees be tested, due to the high rate of injury to the opposite knee with return to sport.
Risk of Re-injury
Rates of re-injury range from 3-24% for either the surgical or non-surgical knee, with some researchers claiming that the opposite knee is twice as likely to get injured upon return to sport. Other studies have shown that age is a major predictor of recurrent ACL injuries, with young athletes (under 20) having a rate of 20-40% re-injury. Other risk factors include:
- Poor neuromuscular function and biomechanics;
- Higher activity level;
- Allographs vs. autographs.
Whether you have just been diagnosed with an ACL tear and you’re waiting for surgery, or you’ve undergone the surgery and are working on rehabilitation, the staff at SPSC can help guide you along the way to ensure a full and successful return to sport.
Van Melick et al., (2016). Evidence-based clinical practice update: Practice guidelines for anterior cruciate ligament rehabilitation based on a systematic review and multidisciplinary consensus. BJOSM.
