Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2022 Apr 14. doi: 10.1111/sms.14166. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
Nine months after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction, athletes who undergo surgery using a bone-patellar-tendon-bone (BPTB) autograft demonstrate higher loading asymmetries during vertical jumping than those with a hamstring tendon (HT) autograft. These asymmetries may transfer into sporting movements with a greater ACL injury risk. The aim of this study was to compare between-limb asymmetries in knee mechanics and task performance during an unplanned 90° change-of-direction (CoD) task in male field sport athletes reconstructed with BPTB or HT autografts. Seventy-eight male multidirectional field sport athletes with either a BPTB (n=39) or HT (n=39) autograft completed maximal unplanned CoD trials in a three-dimensional motion capture laboratory at approximately nine months post-surgery. A mixed model 2×2 ANOVA (autograft type x limb) was used to compare variables related to ACL injury risk (e.g. internal knee moments) and performance (e.g. completion time) between autografts and limbs. Statistical parametric mapping was used for a waveform comparison throughout stance, supplemented with a discrete point analyses of peak knee moments and performance variables. Interaction effects were found at the knee joint, with BPTB demonstrating greater asymmetries than HT in knee extension moment (p<0.001); resultant ground reaction force (p<0.001); peak knee external rotation moment (p=0.04); and knee adduction (p=0.05), medial rotation (p<0.001) and flexion (p<0.001) angles. No differences were found between autografts for any performance variable. BPTB demonstrated greater lower-limb biomechanical asymmetries than HT during CoD, which may influence knee loading and longer-term outcomes and should thus be targeted during rehabilitation prior to return to play.
PMID:35419809 | DOI:10.1111/sms.14166
