Individualizing the return to sports after ACL reconstruction

Because of the epidemiological incidence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries, the high re-injury rates that occur when returning back to sports, the actual number of patients that return to the same premorbid level of competition, the high incidence of osteoarthritis at 5 –10 year follow-ups and the effects on the long term health of the knee and the quality of life for the patient, individualizing the return to sports after ACL reconstruction (ACL-R) is critical. However, one of the challenging but unsolved dilemmas, is what criteria and clinical decision making s hould be used to return an athlete back to sports following an ACL-R.

Source: Operative Techniques in Orthopaedics - February 22, 2017 Category: Orthopaedics Authors: George J. Davies Source Type: research