Healing of acute anterior cruciate ligament rupture on MRI and outcomes following non-surgical management with the Cross Bracing Protocol.

Objective: Investigate MRI evidence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) healing, patient-reported outcomes and knee laxity in patients with acute ACL rupture managed non-surgically with the Cross Bracing Protocol (CBP).

Methods: Eighty consecutive patients within 4 weeks of ACL rupture were managed with CBP (knee immobilisation at 90° flexion in brace for 4 weeks, followed by progressive increases in range-of-motion until brace removal at 12 weeks, and physiotherapist-supervised goal-oriented rehabilitation). MRIs (3 months and 6 months) were graded using the ACL OsteoArthritis Score (ACLOAS) by three radiologists.

Low back pain in a competitive cricket athlete.

Physical therapists treating adolescent and young adult athletes with low back pain complaints should have a high level of clinical suspicion of the possibility for spondylolysis, spondylolisthesis, or developing stress reactions of the pars interarticularis. This case outlines the use of conventional radiography, computerized tomography, and Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in the differential diagnosis for an adolescent cricket athlete with low back pain.