A prospective study of 3-day versus 2-week immobilization period after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.
BACKGROUND
Aggressive early rehabilitation is recommended after reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) using a patellar tendon-bone graft. However, rehabilitation after reconstruction of ACL using the multistranded hamstring is controversial. In this study, we compared the clinical results of 3-day immobilization after reconstruction of ACL using the multistranded hamstring, with those of 2-week immobilization prospectively.


METHODS
A total of 30 consecutive patients with ruptured ACL underwent single-socket ACL reconstruction. 10 male and 5 female patients (mean age of 29.2+/-10.0 years) were prospectively randomized for a 3-day immobilization period, and 6 male and 9 female patients (mean age of 27.3+/-10.9 years) were randomized for a 2-week immobilization period. We measured the anterior laxity with a KT-2000 arthrometer, joint position sense, and thigh muscle strength at 3, 6 and 12 months after surgery.


CONCLUSIONS
There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups. We concluded that the post-operative 3-day immobilization period is preferable to the longer 2-week period in our rehabilitation program from the viewpoint of psychological load to the patients and the duration of hospitalization after ACL reconstruction using multistranded hamstring tendons.
Ito
Yohei
Y
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan. yohei@hiroshima-u.ac.jp
Deie
Masataka
M
Adachi
Nobuo
N
Kobayashi
Kenji
K
Kanaya
Atsushi
A
Miyamoto
Ayato
A
Nakasa
Tomoyuki
T
Ochi
Mitsuo
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016118:Anterior Cruciate Ligament / Q000601:surgery*; D001182:Arthroscopy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007103:Immobilization; D007593:Joint Instability; D008297:Male; D019637:Orthopedic Procedures / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D011182:Postoperative Care; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013997:Time Factors