Editorial Commentary: Anterior Cruciate Ligament Patients Must Be Provided With Both Motivation and Tools to Continue...

Given the current American health insurance environment, many patients do not access physical therapy in the mid and later stages of recovery from anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. This trend is well established in the literature and seems very unlikely to change in the future. While highly competitive athletes generally have year-round access to therapists and trainers to guide them through months of recovery, most patients recovering from ACL reconstruction are recreational athletes with jobs, families, and varying levels of insurance coverage. This trend is well established in the literature, and recent research shows a substantial drop-off in physical therapy participation after 3 months. There are many potential reasons for the decreased utilization, including limitations in physical therapy visits covered by insurance, patient improvement to levels of near-normal motion and gait, and participation fatigue. Thankfully, this may be one of the instances where the latest technologies such as artificial intelligence can be beneficial, and many studies have shown advantages of telehealth in the field of physical therapy. Most of all, surgeons must act as educators and provide our post-ACL reconstruction patients with motivation and tools to continue physical therapy, if not supervised, then independently, beyond the early recovery phase.