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Rehabilitation after ACL injury and reconstruction from the patients' perspective
1Unit of Physiotherapy, Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.
Objectives:
To describe and compare patients' appraisal of the rehabilitation and adherence to the rehabilitation program after acute ACL injury treated with (ACLR) or without (non-ACLR) reconstruction.
Design:
Prospective cohort study.
Participants:
275 patients (143 females; mean age 25 ± 7 years) with acute ACL injury, of whom 166 patients had ACLR within 24 months.
Main Outcome:
Adherence to rehabilitation was assessed using the modified Sports Injury Rehabilitation Adherence Scale (SIRAS).
Results:
Appraisal of rehabilitation was higher in the post-ACLR group compared to the non-ACLR group at 3 months (91% compared to 70% scored rehabilitation as necessary, p = 0.025) and at 6 months (87% compared to 70% scored it as necessary, p = 0.017). SIRAS score did not differ between 3 and 6 months for the non-ACLR group (median (IQR) 13 (2) vs 13 (2)) or the post-ACLR group (14 (1) vs 14 (2), p > 0.05). The post-ACLR group had a higher SIRAS score than the non-ACLR group at 3 and 6 months (p ≤ 0.001).
Conclusion:
Patients treated with ACLR reported valuing their rehabilitation more and rated greater adherence to the rehabilitation programme than non-surgically treated patients. As rehabilitation is essential for good knee function, strategies to improve adherence after non-ACLR treatment should be implemented.
Level Of Evidence:
Prospective cohort study, level II.
