Psychiatric and functional evaluation of professional athletes following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

The aim of this study is to evaluate early phase depression and anxiety in the proffessional athletes who underwent anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction and compare them with the functional improvement of knee.

Thirty-eight patients (35 males, 3 females; mean age±SD: 26.84±8.03) were included in this study. Measurements were obtained immediately following the operation and at Week 6 of postoperative rehabilitation. Depression and anxiety symptoms were evaluated by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and knee function was evaluated by Lysholm Knee Scoring Scale (LKSS).

Change in total LKSS scores from the time of admission (56.4±20.2) to the end of the sixth week (78.7±13.8) was significant (t=-8.21, p<0.001). Neither the HADS depression nor the HADS anxiety scores were above the cutoff values in the 2 assessments. Significant difference was noted in HADS anxiety scores between the time of admission (6.21±3.50) and at the sixth week (5.33±3.33) (t=2.02, p=0.05). However, HADS depression scores were not statistically different between the 2 evaluations (5.95±3.68 and 5.35±3.50 at admission and Week 6 week, respectively) (t=1.07, p=0.29). Changes between the 2 LKSS and HADS anxiety assessments were negatively correlated (r=-0.49, p=0.002), but there no correlation was detected between the total LKSS and HADS score changes.

The decline of the signs of anxiety and depression at the sixth week of rehabilitation indicate that proper rehabilitation positively affects the emotional status of ACL reconstruction patients.