A Criterion Based Rehabilitation Protocol for ACL Repair with Internal Brace Augmentation.
Ahmer Irfan, Stewart Kerr, Graeme Hopper, William Wilson, Lynsay Wilson, Gordon Mackay
PMID 34123539WHAT IT FOUND
This paper proposes a criterion-based rehabilitation protocol for ACL repair with internal brace augmentation.
It describes phase goals and progression rules but reports no patient outcomes or trial results, so it offers no evidence that this protocol improves recovery.
What this paper is
This is a clinical commentary proposing a rehabilitation protocol for ACL repair with internal brace augmentation. It outlines criteria for progression and exercise restrictions but reports no patient outcomes, no trial data, and no results, so there is nothing here to change your practice on.
Declared interests
One author (GM) is a consultant for Arthrex and holds a patent for the Internal Brace device discussed in the protocol.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat this as evidence that the proposed protocol improves outcomes. It is an expert proposal with no data on patient recovery, so any adoption should be based on clinical judgment rather than proven efficacy.