Effects of an accelerated rehabilitation program after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with combined semitendinosus-gracilis autograft and a ligament augmentation device.
Forty patients with anterior cruciate reconstructions using semitendinosus and gracilis autografts and a ligament augmentation device were reviewed at a minimum of 20 months postoperatively to determine if an accelerated rehabilitation program was detrimental to intermediate follow-up results. The rehabilitation program included immediate full weightbearing, using crutches as aids for 2 weeks only, and a Generation II rehabilitation brace set at full range of motion for 2 weeks followed at 2 weeks by bicycle riding and strengthening exercises. Return to sports was allowed at 4 months for nonpivoting sports and at 6 months for level 1 sports involving pivoting. Thirty-seven patients were available for followup. At followup, three grafts were determined to be nonfunctional (KT-1000 arthrometer testing indicating > 4 mm of side-to-side difference). The other 34 patients had good or excellent results, with all returning to their preinjury levels of sport with a brace. Early accelerated rehabilitation after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with semitendinosus and gracilis tendon autograft and a ligament augmentation device does not seem to affect the results adversely. Results in this series were as good as or better than other series using the same reconstructive technique.
MacDonald
P B
PB
University of Manitoba, Section of Orthopaedics, St. Boniface General Hospital, Winnipeg, Canada.
Hedden
D
D
Pacin
O
O
Huebert
D
D
D000328:Adult; D016118:Anterior Cruciate Ligament / Q000601:surgery*; D000070598:Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000534:rehabilitation* / Q000601:surgery; D001915:Braces; D003446:Crutches; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007537:Isometric Contraction; D008297:Male; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities / Q000379:methods*; D019736:Prostheses and Implants; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D013710:Tendons / Q000637:transplantation*; D013997:Time Factors; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D016474:Weight-Bearing