Lower Extremity Movement Differences Persist After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction and When Returning to Sports

Objective: To examine how landing mechanics change in patients after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACL-R) between 6 months and 12 months after surgery. Design: Case-series. Setting: Laboratory. Participants: Fifteen adolescent patients after ACL-R participated. Interventions: Lower extremity three-dimensional motion analysis was conducted during a bilateral stop jump task in patients at 6 and 12 months after ACL-R. Joint kinematic and kinetic data, in addition to ground reaction forces, were collected at each time point. Main Outcome Measures: During the stop jump landing, the peak joint moments and the initial and peak joint motion at the ankle, knee, and hip were examined. The peak vertical ground reaction force was also examined. Results: Interactions were observed for both the peak knee (P = 0.03) and hip extension moment (P = 0.07). However, only the hip extension moment was symmetrical level at 12 months. Statistically significant (P
Source: Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine - Category: Sports Medicine Tags: Original Research Source Type: research