Are demographics, physical function and psychological response associated with return to sport at one year following ACL-reconstruction?

Objective: To determine the relative contribution of each of the following aspects: demographics, physical function, and patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), including both physical and psychological constructs, to return to sport (RTS) (any level) one-year post anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR).

Design: Cross-sectional cohort study.

Methods: We included data for 143 participants (73 women, mean (SD) age 24 (5.8) years) ∼ one-year post-ACLR. Data comprised demographics, physical function (hop performance, hip and knee peak torque) and PROMs (Knee Osteoarthritis Outcome Score subscales, perceived stress, and ACL Return to Sport after Injury scale (ACL-RSI)). We then used a Z-normalized multivariable logistic regression model to establish the relative contribution of factors associated with RTS.

Results: Sixty-four (45%) of the participants had returned to sport at one year post-ACLR. In the regression model, greater hip abduction peak torque (OR = 1.70, 95% CI; 1.01 to 2.84) and greater psychological readiness to RTS (OR = 2.32, 95% CI; 1.30 to 4.12) were the only variables associated with RTS (R = 0.352).

Conclusions: The significant contribution of hip abduction strength and psychological readiness to RTS was still relatively small, suggesting other potential factors explaining RTS which may not be captured by common RTS criteria.