Influence of graft diameter and activity level on functional outcomes one year after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

Abstract

Introduction. Anterior cruciate ligament is one of the strongest ligament in human body, responsible for knee joint stability. The active way of life and growing trend toward playing sports, together with greater complexity of sports movements, induce knee ligament injuries. Still, there is no consensus what factors affect the functional outcomes and the return to the pre-injury level after ACL reconstruction, as well as when it is the best time to perform reconstruction. Aim. The purpose of this study was to determine whether graft size, patient' sport activity level, IKDC score, BMI, time from injury to surgery have impact on functional outcomes after ACL reconstruction. Materials and methods. A prospective study was carried out in LUHS Kaunas Clinics, Orthopaedics and traumatology dep. Sport Injury and Arthroscopy sector. Patients after ACLR with HT grafts were included. Before surgery, we recorded patient age, sex, activity level by Tegner score, BMI; patients completed IKDC questionnaires before surgery and 12 months after; after surgery graft diameter was recorded. Patients, according the graft diameter, were divided into 3 groups ((Ø<8mm, 8mm<Ø<9mm, Ø>9mm). To evaluate the functional outcomes 12-months after ACLR, patients performed one-legged hop tests. [...].