Conservative treatment versus surgical reconstruction for ACL rupture: A systemic review

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture is a prevalent sports injury with rising rates attributed to increased population participation in sports activities. ACL rupture can lead to severe knee complications including cartilage damage, torn meniscus, and osteoarthritis. Current treatment options include conservative measures and surgical interventions. However, debates persist regarding the optimal approach.

This analysis intended to compare the function, knee stability, and incidence rate of secondary surgery between conservative and surgical treatments in ACL rupture patients.

A systematic search was performed via Embase, Ovid Medline, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Google Scholar for reporting outcomes of conservative and surgical treatments after ACL rupture. The outcomes included patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), knee stability, the need for secondary meniscal surgery, delayed ACL reconstruction surgery, and revision ACL reconstruction surgery. Outcomes were analyzed using mean differences or odd ratios (OR) with 95 % CIs.

11 studies were included with 1516 patients. For PROMs, our evidence indicated no differences in KOOS Pain, KOOS Symptoms, KOOS Sport/Rec, KOOS ADL, and KOOS QOL. (all p > 0.05). for knee stability, pivot shift (OR, 0.14; p < 0.001), Lachman test (OR, 0.06; p < 0.001), and tibia translation (p < 0.001) were evaluated, and the available evidence favored surgical treatment over conservative treatment. For the incidence rate of any secondary surgery after the first diagnosis, the surgical group showed a lower rate of meniscal surgery with statistical significance (OR, 0.37; p < 0.001). The average rate of revision ACL reconstruction is 5.80 %, while the rate of delayed ACL reconstruction after conservative treatment is 18.51 %.

Currently, there is insufficient empirical evidence to advocate a systematic surgical reconstruction for any patient who tore his ACL. This review found no differences in function outcomes between conservative and surgical treatments. Regarding knee stability and secondary meniscal surgery, the results prefer the surgical treatments. The occurrence rate of revision and delayed ACL reconstruction are non-negligible factors that must be fully understood by both surgeons and patients before choosing a suitable treatment.