Correlation between the result from arthroscopic reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament of the knee and the return to sports activity()

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the return to pre-injury sports activity in a group of patients who underwent anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction, in relation to age, sex, body mass index (BMI) and associations with upper-limb fractures. METHODS: A group of 265 patients who underwent ACL reconstruction using an ipsilateral graft from the thigh flexor tendons, between July 2000 and November 2007, was analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 176 patients was evaluated after a mean period of 34.95 ± 18.8 months (median: 31 months) (interquartile range: 20–48 months). The minimum evaluation period was 12 months and the maximum was 87 months. The number of patients who returned to their sports activity prior to tearing the ACL was 121/176 (68.8%). Patients under 30 years of age more frequently returned to sports activity and this was considered significant: p = 0.016; odds ratio, OR = 0.44 (95% confidence interval, CI: 0.22–0.86). Returning to previous sports activity more frequently was not considered significant for male sex (p = 0.273), individuals with BMI < 25 (p = 0.280) or patients with an ACL injury unrelated to an initial traumatic episode with upper-limb fracturing (p = 0.353). CONCLUSIONS: The rate of return to the sports activity prior to ACL injury was 68.8%. It was found that patients under the age of 30 years had a significantly greater rate of return to sports activity after the surgery. In relation to sex, BMI and association with an initial traumatic episode of upper-limb fracturing, there was no statistical difference in the return to sports activity.