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Updated: Oct 14, 2025
Author Spotlight: Implementing the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Concept in Rehabilitation Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction
Published on: March 1, 2024
Satisfaction with playing pre-injury sports 1 year after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using a hamstring
Yuya Ueda1, Takehiko Matsushita2, Yohei Shibata3
1Division of Rehabilitation Medicine, Kobe University Hospital, Kobe, Japan; Department of Community Health Sciences, Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kobe, Japan.
Background:
Few studies have examined patient satisfaction with playing pre-injury sports after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. The purpose of this study was to investigate patient satisfaction with playing pre-injury sport and identify factors associated with satisfaction.
Methods:
A total of 97 patients underwent unilateral ACL reconstruction using a hamstring autograft and returned to pre-injury sports 1 year after surgery. Patient satisfaction with playing pre-injury sport was assessed by a visual analog scale (VAS) and an ordinal four-grade scale. Problems related to the operated knee were also assessed. Knee muscle strength, single leg hop distance, knee laxity, subjective knee pain, and fear of movement/reinjury using Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia-11 (TSK-11) were measured. Multivariate linear regression analysis was performed to determine the factors associated with patient satisfaction with playing pre-injury sport 1 year after surgery.
Results:
The average VAS score for patient satisfaction with playing pre-injury sports 1 year after surgery was 77.8 ± 20.2. Of the 97 patients, 87 patients (89.7%) answered "satisfied" or "mostly satisfied", whereas 51 patients (52.6%) had one or more problems. Multivariate linear regression analysis identified that the TSK-11 score was associated with patient satisfaction with playing a pre-injury sport 1 year after surgery.
Conclusion:
Most of the patients who returned to pre-injury sports were satisfied with their outcomes. In contrast, approximately half of the patients had one or more problems after returning to play pre-injury sports. In particular, fear of movement/reinjury was significantly associated with patient satisfaction with playing pre-injury sport 1 year after surgery.
