[Subsequent treatment of surgically managed, fresh, anterior cruciate ligament ruptures--a randomized, prospective...

The prospective study examined two different postoperative treatments on 46 patients with acute and isolated disruption of the anterior cruciate ligament (acl), who were treated with reconstruction and augmentation using the semitendinosus-tendon. The patients were randomised and divided into two groups either to use a postoperative brace (Donjoy Ind.) set at full extension (group A) or to use the same brace set at a flexion of 20 degrees (group B) on the first 3 days after surgery. All patients undertook a standard "accelerated" rehabilitation protocol and were evaluated after 3, 6 and 12 months after surgery. The results were as follow: the patients of group A reached the full extension faster than group B without any loss of knee stability. Postoperative extension even led to an earlier return to work and sport activities. The muscle strength side-to-side difference (Cybex-measurement) was lower in group A. The severity and intensity of postoperative pain, swelling and giving-way was reduced in group A as was the risk of arthrofibrosis. Evaluated with the scoring scales of the "Orthopädische Arbeitsgruppe Knie" (OAK), the "International Knee Documentation Committee" (IKDC), the Tegner activity score and the Lysholm score, the clinical outcome and activity-level were higher in group A than in group B. This prospective study shows, that immediate postoperative extension, compared to the postoperative flexion of 20 degrees, reduces the term of rehabilitation and optimizes the operative results after acl-reconstruction.