Early Weight-Bearing Rehabilitation Protocol After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

Summary

Based on the safety and feasibility, this article presents an early weight-bearing rehabilitation protocol after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. The protocol is clear and easy to operate, which is helpful to promote its use in clinical practice and accelerate the functional recovery of patients.

Abstract

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury is one of the common sports injuries. Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) is the mainstream treatment for ACL injury, aiming to regain normal anatomical structure and stability of the knee joint and promote the patient's return to sports. Under the guidance of the concept of enhanced recovery after surgery, early weight-bearing rehabilitation (EWB) is an important factor affecting patient function and quality of life. However, there is no consensus on whether EWB rehabilitation can be performed after ACL surgery.

This study aims to explore the safety and feasibility of EWB after ACL surgery. The study implemented a gradual EWB rehabilitation program in the experimental group, including weight-shifting training, balance training, and gait training on the affected lower limb, and assessed wound healing and stability of the knee joint. The study found that EWB after ACLR is safe and feasible. EWB rehabilitation not only does not pose a negative effect on the patient's knee pain, swelling, wound healing, and stability, but also helps to improve knee active flexion and quality of life faster and better. The EWB program in this study is simple, safe, and effective, and it provides strong theoretical guidance and practical demonstration for accelerated rehabilitation after ACLR.

Introduction

Enhanced Recovery after Surgery (ERAS) is a concept that promotes the early initiation of postsurgery rehabilitation care units, particularly after orthopedic operations, when conditions are appropriate¹. This approach seeks to shift the clinical focus from treating the disease to functional rehabilitation promptly with the goal of reducing hospital stays, minimizing postoperative complications, improving patient prognosis and satisfaction, and enhancing overall rehabilitation outcomes. Since the introduction of ERAS, Chinese orthopedic rehabilitation specialist, Zhou Mouwang, has advocated for the active application of accelerated recovery pro....

Protocol

This protocol has been approved by the Ethics Committee of Shanghai First People's Hospital (project number: 2022SQ470).

1. Study design

1. Ensure that the study is single-blind: researchers will be aware of group assignments but they will not inform participants of their allocation.
2. Random grouping: Ensure that the researchers use a random number table and randomly divide the participants into two groups at a 1:1 ratio. The control group (CG) will recei.......

Discussion

This study protocol contains details of the EWB rehabilitation after ACLR. Its process is clear and not complicated, and because only simple rehabilitation equipment is needed for the implementation of the EWB rehabilitation program, it is clinically feasible and convenient. In addition, safety is an important consideration in this study protocol. The EWB rehabilitation program not only adds protective measures to prevent iatrogenic sports injury but also follows the step-by-step principle. Therefore, the results of this.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Elastic band	JOINFIT	10722038422
Electronic body weightometer	China's Xiaomi Technology (W0LONOW)	100021480693
Movable mirror	Guangzhou Compaq Medical Equipment Co. LTD	10073735389717
SPSS 21.0			statistical analysis