Comparison of Time Needed to Meet Common Rehabilitation Milestones After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction According to Graft Type.

Background: The use of bone-patellar tendon-bone (BPTB) and hamstring tendon (HT) autografts is common in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). After ACLR, patients typically progress through specific rehabilitation milestones, and graft type may play a role in patient progression.

Purpose: To compare the time to meet rehabilitation milestones between BPTB and HT autografts after ACLR.

Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods: This was a single-institution study on patients who underwent ACLR with either BPTB or HT autograft between June 2018 and July 2021. The primary outcomes were time to meet return-to-sport criteria, including >90% limb symmetry index (LSI) for isokinetic quadriceps and hamstring strength, horizontal hop, 4-crossover hop, and single-hop height. The time to satisfaction of each criterion was compared between graft groups using Wilcoxon tests and Cox proportional hazards models.

Results: Included in the analysis were 410 participants who underwent ACLR with either BPTB (n = 232) or HT (n = 178). The BPTB group took longer to achieve >90% LSI for knee extension than HT (11.1 ± 4.1 vs 7.63 ± 2.8 months; < .001). Similarly, the BPTB group took longer than the HT group to achieve >90% LSI for horizontal hop (11.4 ± 3.5 vs 9.82 ± 2.8 months; < .001), 4-crossover hop (11.8 ± 3.6 vs 10.4 ± 2.8 months; = .002), and single-hop height testing (11 ± 3.7 vs 8.81 ± 3.2 months; < .001). The median time to achieve >90% LSI for hamstring strength was similar between groups (7.18 ± 3 vs 7.56 ± 3.1 months; = .2).

Conclusion: Patients that underwent ACLR with BPTB autograft took longer than patients with HT to meet commonly used postoperative rehabilitation milestones. Clinicians should consider these differences when guiding patients regarding graft choice, postoperative expectations, and rehabilitation.