Muscle Strengthening and Return-to-exercise Criteria After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction (ACLR)

NCT ID: NCT05814445

Last Updated: 2023-04-14

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

UNKNOWN

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

62 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2021-08-20

Study Completion Date

2024-03-20

Brief Summary

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Anterior cruciate ligament injury is very common in recreational and elite athletes. It is considered the second most frequent pathology seeing in Sports Medicine Services. After the injury and ACLR, there is a marked decrease in the strength of the knee extensors/flexors muscles. Strength exercise programs are aimed at recovering strength and functionality, however, a low percentage of patients manage to achieve the optimal return-to-exercise criteria. Therefore, it is relevant to design and evaluate exercise programs that allow early recovery of muscle strength and knee functionality. The main purpose of this study is to investigate a neuromuscular exercise program compared with a standard institutional program in the recovery of the strength and functionality of the knee extensor/flexor muscles after ACLR.

Detailed Description

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Study design: this is a 22-week, randomized trial. 62 participants will be recruited from the medical services of the National Institute of Rehabilitation (NIR).

Participants: adults between 20-40 years old, with a body mass index \<30.0 kg/mˆ2, history of sports practice immediately prior to the injury, post-operated unilaterally for ACL with the hamstring autograft technique (semitendinosus-gracilis tendons), with full ranges of motion and no edema will be recruited. Participants with multi-ligament knee injuries, with more than 12 months from the injury to surgery or more than 8 months after surgery, with uncompensated metabolic diseases or acute illnesses/infections under treatment will not be recruited.

Intervention: participants will be randomized to 1) neuromuscular or 2) institutional exercise program with computer-generated random numbers. Both programs consist of isotonic open and closed kinetic chain exercises for the hip and knee. The neuromuscular program also includes exercises to improve vastus medialis and lateralis strength, hamstrings, hip flexors and extensors, proprioception, and core stability. On the other hand, the institutional program includes concentric and eccentric knee exercises. Both programs will be performed 3 days/week, 3 sets, 18-22 repetitions for each exercise; the intensity will initiate at 65-75% (1RM), and it will be increased to 75-85%; the workload will be increased 5-10% from the fifth week according to perceived exertion. The exercises will be done with both legs; however, the injured leg will be exercised complementary. The last 6 weeks of the programs correspond to functional exercises according the sport. Every training session will consist of 15 minutes of warm-up, 40-60 minutes of resistance training, and 15 minutes of cool-down; all training sessions will take place in the NIR Sports Medicine therapeutic gym.

The knee flexors/extensors muscle strength will be determined by isokinetic dynamometry (at 60°/s). The knee function will be evaluated by hop tests and agility T-test. The patient's perception of daily functional activities after ACL reconstruction will be assessed by the Lysholm knee score.

For each participant, the study length will be 22 weeks with 66 exercise sessions. The beginning of the study corresponds to session 1 of exercise. Initial evaluation will be performed 5 days prior to the start of the intervention, while final evaluations will be conducted at the end of 22 weeks of follow-up (2 days after the last day of the intervention). Data will be recorded by study investigators.

Conditions

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Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Participants

Study Groups

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Neuromuscular exercise program

Participants on a neuromuscular exercise program

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Neuromuscular exercise program

Intervention Type OTHER

Participants will complete a neuromuscular program during 22 weeks. The program consist of isotonic open and closed kinetic chain exercises for the hip and knee, and training to improve hip and knee muscles strength, proprioception, and core stability.

Institutional exercise program

Participants on an institutional exercise program

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Institutional exercise program

Intervention Type OTHER

Participants will complete an institutional exercise program during 22 weeks. The program consist of isotonic open and closed kinetic chain exercises for the hip and knee, and concentric and eccentric knee exercises.

Interventions

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Neuromuscular exercise program

Participants will complete a neuromuscular program during 22 weeks. The program consist of isotonic open and closed kinetic chain exercises for the hip and knee, and training to improve hip and knee muscles strength, proprioception, and core stability.

Intervention Type OTHER

Institutional exercise program

Participants will complete an institutional exercise program during 22 weeks. The program consist of isotonic open and closed kinetic chain exercises for the hip and knee, and concentric and eccentric knee exercises.

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* History of sports practice immediately prior to the injury
* Post-operated unilaterally for ACL with the hamstring autograft technique (semitendinosus-gracilis tendons),
* Full ranges of motion and no edema
* Body mass index \< 30.0 kg/mˆ2

Exclusion Criteria

* Multi-ligament knee injuries,
* More than 12 months from the injury to surgery
* More than 8 months after surgery
* Uncompensated metabolic diseases
* Acute illnesses/infections under treatment
Minimum Eligible Age

20 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

40 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Instituto Nacional de Rehabilitacion

OTHER_GOV

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Ariadna del Villar Morales

Principal Investigator

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Ariadna d Morales, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

National Institute of Rehabilitation

Locations

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National Institute of Rehabilitation

Mexico City, , Mexico

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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Mexico

Central Contacts

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Andrea P Perez, MSc

Role: CONTACT

525559991000 ext. 15302

Rebeca S Romero, MSc

Role: CONTACT

525559991000 ext. 15224

Facility Contacts

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Andrea P Perez, MSc

Role: primary

525559991000 ext. 15302

Rebeca S Romero, MSc

Role: backup

525559991000 ext. 15224

References

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LaBella CR, Hennrikus W, Hewett TE; Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness, and Section on Orthopaedics. Anterior cruciate ligament injuries: diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. Pediatrics. 2014 May;133(5):e1437-50. doi: 10.1542/peds.2014-0623.

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Palmieri-Smith RM, Lepley LK. Quadriceps Strength Asymmetry After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Alters Knee Joint Biomechanics and Functional Performance at Time of Return to Activity. Am J Sports Med. 2015 Jul;43(7):1662-9. doi: 10.1177/0363546515578252. Epub 2015 Apr 16.

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Della Villa S, Boldrini L, Ricci M, Danelon F, Snyder-Mackler L, Nanni G, Roi GS. Clinical Outcomes and Return-to-Sports Participation of 50 Soccer Players After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Through a Sport-Specific Rehabilitation Protocol. Sports Health. 2012 Jan;4(1):17-24. doi: 10.1177/1941738111417564.

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Souissi S, Wong del P, Dellal A, Croisier JL, Ellouze Z, Chamari K. Improving Functional Performance and Muscle Power 4-to-6 Months After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction. J Sports Sci Med. 2011 Dec 1;10(4):655-64. eCollection 2011.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 24149555 (View on PubMed)

Cavanaugh JT, Powers M. ACL Rehabilitation Progression: Where Are We Now? Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med. 2017 Sep;10(3):289-296. doi: 10.1007/s12178-017-9426-3.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Myer GD, Brent JL, Ford KR, Hewett TE. Real-time assessment and neuromuscular training feedback techniques to prevent ACL injury in female athletes. Strength Cond J. 2011 Jun 1;33(3):21-35. doi: 10.1519/SSC.0b013e318213afa8.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 21643474 (View on PubMed)

Reid A, Birmingham TB, Stratford PW, Alcock GK, Giffin JR. Hop testing provides a reliable and valid outcome measure during rehabilitation after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Phys Ther. 2007 Mar;87(3):337-49. doi: 10.2522/ptj.20060143. Epub 2007 Feb 20.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 17311886 (View on PubMed)

Noyes FR, Barber SD, Mangine RE. Abnormal lower limb symmetry determined by function hop tests after anterior cruciate ligament rupture. Am J Sports Med. 1991 Sep-Oct;19(5):513-8. doi: 10.1177/036354659101900518.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 1962720 (View on PubMed)

Collins NJ, Misra D, Felson DT, Crossley KM, Roos EM. Measures of knee function: International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) Subjective Knee Evaluation Form, Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score Physical Function Short Form (KOOS-PS), Knee Outcome Survey Activities of Daily Living Scale (KOS-ADL), Lysholm Knee Scoring Scale, Oxford Knee Score (OKS), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), Activity Rating Scale (ARS), and Tegner Activity Score (TAS). Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2011 Nov;63 Suppl 11(0 11):S208-28. doi: 10.1002/acr.20632. No abstract available.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 22588746 (View on PubMed)

Abrams GD, Harris JD, Gupta AK, McCormick FM, Bush-Joseph CA, Verma NN, Cole BJ, Bach BR Jr. Functional Performance Testing After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: A Systematic Review. Orthop J Sports Med. 2014 Jan 21;2(1):2325967113518305. doi: 10.1177/2325967113518305. eCollection 2014 Jan.

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PMID: 26535266 (View on PubMed)

Kyritsis P, Bahr R, Landreau P, Miladi R, Witvrouw E. Likelihood of ACL graft rupture: not meeting six clinical discharge criteria before return to sport is associated with a four times greater risk of rupture. Br J Sports Med. 2016 Aug;50(15):946-51. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2015-095908. Epub 2016 May 23.

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Schmitt LC, Paterno MV, Hewett TE. The impact of quadriceps femoris strength asymmetry on functional performance at return to sport following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2012 Sep;42(9):750-9. doi: 10.2519/jospt.2012.4194. Epub 2012 Jul 19.

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Cristiani R, Mikkelsen C, Forssblad M, Engstrom B, Stalman A. Only one patient out of five achieves symmetrical knee function 6 months after primary anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 2019 Nov;27(11):3461-3470. doi: 10.1007/s00167-019-05396-4. Epub 2019 Feb 18.

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Herman K, Barton C, Malliaras P, Morrissey D. The effectiveness of neuromuscular warm-up strategies, that require no additional equipment, for preventing lower limb injuries during sports participation: a systematic review. BMC Med. 2012 Jul 19;10:75. doi: 10.1186/1741-7015-10-75.

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Mandelbaum BR, Silvers HJ, Watanabe DS, Knarr JF, Thomas SD, Griffin LY, Kirkendall DT, Garrett W Jr. Effectiveness of a neuromuscular and proprioceptive training program in preventing anterior cruciate ligament injuries in female athletes: 2-year follow-up. Am J Sports Med. 2005 Jul;33(7):1003-10. doi: 10.1177/0363546504272261. Epub 2005 May 11.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 15888716 (View on PubMed)

Sugimoto D, Myer GD, McKeon JM, Hewett TE. Evaluation of the effectiveness of neuromuscular training to reduce anterior cruciate ligament injury in female athletes: a critical review of relative risk reduction and numbers-needed-to-treat analyses. Br J Sports Med. 2012 Nov;46(14):979-88. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2011-090895. Epub 2012 Jun 28.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Related Links

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https://australia.rugby/participate/coach/coaching-resources/world-rugby-activate

Activate adult. World rugby injury prevention exercise programme.

Other Identifiers

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27/21

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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