Study of proprioception and muscle strength following arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

Abstract

<p><strong>Background:</strong> Mechanoreceptors plays a vital role in knee mechanics. Since there are controversies surrounding the overall recovery time of proprioception following surgery, it is necessary to define the factors affecting proprioceptive recovery after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction and to investigate the relationship between proprioception and muscle strength following surgery.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Current study is combined prospective and retrospective study done at K. S. hospital Koppal, spanning for a period of one year (December 2019 to December 2020). All patients presented with isolated anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear were included in the study. Patients were treated by arthroscopic ACL reconstruction with hamstring graft only and followed up for a period of year. Outcome measures include centre of mass proprioception in AP and medio-lateral direction and muscular strength through force gauze in Newton.</p><p><strong>Results:</strong> 26 patients (mean age 33) were included in the study, all ACL tears were treated by arthroscopic ACL reconstruction with hamstring graft and they underwent varying period of rehabilitation.</p><p><strong>Conclusions:</strong> This study shows that our understanding of biomechanics of ACL reconstructed knees is still evolving, and proprioception is found to be a key factor in determining post-op recovery. ACL remnant preservation intra-op along with proper mechanical positioning of the graft may help in better proprioception and functional outcome following the reconstruction.</p>