Tracking Recovery in Motion: Longitudinal, Multi-Contextual Monitoring of Return-to-Play in Collegiate Basketball

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Orthopedics
• Biomechanics

Background:

• Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are common and disruptive in sports.
• Current return-to-play (RTP) protocols often rely on isolated benchmarks, potentially missing critical deficits.
• Multidimensional monitoring is essential for comprehensive athlete recovery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To longitudinally assess the RTP process in a female basketball player post-ACL reconstruction.
• To integrate physical, biomechanical, and psychological data relative to pre-injury baselines.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of multidimensional monitoring for RTP decision-making.

Main Methods:

• Utilized countermovement jump testing with force plates and inertial measurement units (IMUs) for biomechanical analysis.
• Employed psychological questionnaires to assess athlete confidence.
• Compared post-surgical data against individualized pre-injury baselines using minimal detectable change thresholds.

Main Results:

• Jump height recovered within seven weeks, but inter-limb asymmetries persisted in force plate and IMU data.
• High confidence scores were reported despite persistent biomechanical deficits.
• On-court loading variability remained even after clinical clearance.

Conclusions:

• Integrated, multidimensional monitoring detects residual deficits missed by traditional assessments.
• Individualized, pre-injury baselines are crucial for interpreting post-surgical recovery.
• This framework supports enhanced, individualized RTP decision-making for female athletes.