Clinical and Biomechanical Efficacies of Mechanical Perturbation Training After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Rupture.
Zakariya Nawasreh, David Logerstedt, Adam Marmon and 1 others
PMID 30300071WHAT IT FOUND
Mechanical perturbation training matched manual therapy for gait mechanics and patient-reported knee function.
However, the mechanical group started with better baseline function and showed superior hop symmetry, making it unclear if the device itself caused these differences.
Key findings
01Both mechanical and manual perturbation training improved knee excursion and external knee flexion moments during gait, with no significant difference between the two groups.
02The mechanical group demonstrated significantly higher limb symmetry indices for triple and 6-meter timed hops compared to the manual group, even after adjusting for baseline differences.
03Significant baseline differences existed between groups, with the mechanical group scoring higher on most performance and patient-reported measures before training began.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Very small sample size (18 patients total). Significant baseline differences between groups, with the mechanical group being more functionally able prior to training. The mechanical group included patients with dynamic knee stability, whereas the manual group did not. Five patients in the mechanical group received additional agility training, which may have influenced hop performance. Short-term follow-up with no long-term outcome data. The manual training included a rocker board condition not present in the mechanical protocol, introducing another variable.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that mechanical perturbation training is superior for functional performance. The mechanical group had better baseline function and received additional agility training, which likely contributed to their higher hop test scores rather than the device itself.