Quality of Movement for Athletes Six Months Post ACL Reconstruction

OBJECTIVES: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury prevention programs evaluate quality of movement (QM) to identify and correct high-risk movement patterns. However, return to play (RTP) decisions post-ACL reconstruction (ACLR) are often based on non-sport relatedquantitative measures such as isokinetic tests and/or time from surgery, with six months post-ACLR being a common expectation for RTP. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether athletes are ready to RTP 6 months post ACLR using a QM assessment (QMA). METHODS: A QMA including nine dynamic tasks (squat, single leg [SL] stance, step down, SL squat, jump in place, side to side jump, broad jump, hop to opposite, SL hop) progressing from double- to single-limb vertical and horizontal movements was administered to 136 athletes at five to seven months post-ACLR. Tasks were viewed from the frontal and sagittal planes by a physical therapist and performance specialist. Movements were evaluated live for risk factors associated with ACL injury (strategy, depth, control, symmetry, and alignment). The proportion of patients exhibiting risky movement patterns for each task was calculated. Fisher’s Exact test was used to determine if there were differences in movement patterns between males and females. RESULTS: The proportion of patients demonstrating risky movement patterns for a task ranged from 48% to 100%. All 136 patients exhibited risky movement patterns for at least one task and 60% of patients displayed risky movement patterns in five or more of the nine tasks. Rates of risky movement patterns were not different between males and females for all tasks (P>0.1 for all tasks). CONCLUSION: Six months has been cited as a probable time for RTP post-ACLR; thus this is the expectation of the athlete. Our data show that athletes demonstrate multiple QM patterns associated with initial ACL injury, as well as 2nd injury at five to seven months post-operatively. Altered movement patterns evident in tasks as simple as a SL stance remained with the athlete through tasks of increasing difficulty. We recommend that therapists integrate QM screening into rehabilitation with a focus on movement retraining to address mechanical risk factors prior to RTP.