Return to sport and knee functional scores after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: 2 to 10 years' follow-up

BACKGROUND: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction is one of the most common knee ligament reconstruction sustained by sports players. Previous studies have revealed different rates of returning to play sports depending on study sites, subjects, and time to follow-up; however, this subject has not been adequately investigated in Thailand. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess the percentage of ACL reconstruction patients who successfully returned to sport activities. Factors associated with being able to return to sport were also determined. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the rates of return to sport of patients who underwent ACL reconstruction between 2005 and 2015. All potential patients were initially contacted via letter or mobile phone and asked to report their long-term follow-up outcomes. Collected data from the interview, including return to sport status, performance following ACL, and reasons for not returning to play (if applicable) were then combined with the initial surgical findings and enrollment/follow-up cohort data for analysis. This study was reviewed and approved by the ethics committee of Rajavithi Hospital. RESULTS: A total of 110 participants were recruited, with a mean age of 35.05 ± 9.16 years. Most of the patients were male, single, with bachelor degree education, engaged in “other” occupations, had income up to 10,000 baht/month, were in the social security scheme (54.5%), and had no underlying diseases (85.5%). The mean ± SD of BMI was 25.58 ± 4.30 kg/m(2). When classified by whether or not they returned to sports, it was found that sex, education, income and underlying disease of those who returned to sport were significantly different from those of subjects who did not (p < 0.05). At follow-up, 36.4% had returned to sport. The main reasons stated for not returning to sport following ACL were fear of injury, concern about possible long-term effects, and worry about the possibility of re-injury. Overall, total IKDC scores of patients who returned to sport were significantly higher than those of subjects who did not. However, some points such as ability to kneel, ride and bend the knee were not different in the two groups. Bachelor degree education, monthly income lower than 10,000 Thai baht and IKDC score were the factors associated with returning to sport. CONCLUSIONS: The rates of return to sport after ACL reconstruction were low compared to those of other reports in the literature. Education, low income and IKDC score were predictive factors of sport re-participation. Further studies should be carried out to assess the impact on treatment indications and rehabilitation.