A Review on Rehabilitation and Return to Sport Criteria Post ACL Reconstruction in Athletes

Abstract

Background: Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries are most often found in young active athletes. They range from mild (small tears or sprain) to severe (complete tear of ligament) and are mostly seen in sports like football, basketball, cricket, gymnastics, skiing, etc ACL reconstruction is a surgical knee procedure that requires intensive postoperative rehabilitation by the athlete to be able to return to sport. Methods: A systematic review was conducted considering the data sources PubMed (MEDLINE), Cochrane Library, PEDro, Google Scholar, EBSCO, Medscape, and Scopus databases using the keywords ACL reconstruction, rehabilitation, and return to sport criteria. The time frame ranged between 2017-2022 Results: The study selection process is presented according to PRISMA guidelines. After title and abstract screening, 50 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility 20 were excluded; the remaining 30 articles were deemed to meet the inclusion criteria and were included. The total number of RCTs included was thirty Conclusion: The thirty included RCTs offer convincing results on post-operative outcomes of muscular strength, function, patient reported symptoms and determination of return to sport criteria. There is limitation in holistic evidence that looks into the psychological as well as physical components of rehabilitation of an athlete that will also accelerate the return to sport duration. Keywords: ACL reconstruction, rehabilitation, return to sport criteria