Original Article

Is prehabilitation a void in management of anterior cruciate ligament injuries? A Prospective study

Harsh Kotecha^1*, Shahish Surme^1*, Alfven Vieira¹, Ameya Velankar¹, Laksh Agrawal¹, Dhruv Shah¹, Jaimini Chaudhari²

1. Department of Orthopaedics, MGM Medical College and Hospital, Navi Mumbai, India
2. Department of Physiotherapy MGM School of Physiotherapy, Navi Mumbai, India

• * Contributed equally

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Keywords: Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction, Knee Arthroscopy, Pre-operative Care, Pre-operative Rehabilitation

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Abstract

Objective: The objective of this paper is to study the effects of 12 weeks of pre surgery physiotherapy rehabilitation protocol on the outcome of arthroscopic Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery. Methods: A prospective randomised clinical study was conducted to compare the functional outcome after ACL reconstruction surgery in patients who had received 12 weeks of pre surgery physiotherapy against those who had not received the same, based on clinical outcome, Tegner Lysholm and International Knee Documentation Committee Subjective Knee Form (IKDC) Score. Results: Out of 30 participants 15 participants who received pre-rehabilitation showed better functional score in terms of Tegner Lysholm score and IKDC score following ACL reconstruction surgery compared to group 2 which is non- pre-rehabilitation group. There was a statistically significant relation between Pre-rehabilitation and better functional scores. Conclusion: A prehabilitation programme emphasizing on intensive muscle strength training, plyometric exercises and advanced neuromuscular exercises gives better outcome than no prehabilitation and should be included in standard ACL treatment protocol for patients undergoing ACLR.

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