Isokinetic evaluation of knee muscles and correlation of maximum torque of the extensors of the operated knee with thigh circumference in soccer players 2 years after ACL reconstruction: A cross-sectional study.
Konstantinos Chatzilamprinos, Eleni Semaltianou, Dimitrios Lytras and 1 others
PMID 41477571WHAT IT FOUND
Two years after ACL reconstruction, operated knees had lower extensor torque at 60, 180 and 300 degrees per second, but not at 400 or 500 degrees per second.
Non-operated thighs were larger at 20 cm, and size tracked extensor torque.
Key findings
01Non-operated concentric knee extensor peak torque was superior at 60, 180, 300, 400 and 500 degrees per second, with p values of 0.014, 0.029, 0.017, 0.063 and 0.365.
02Non-operated concentric knee flexor peak torque was superior at 60, 180, 300, 400 and 500 degrees per second, with p values of 0.038, 0.060, 0.082, 0.317 and 0.702.
03Thigh circumference showed p values of 0.120 at 10 cm and 0.038 at 20 cm between limbs, and correlations with operated-knee extensor torque at 60, 180, 300 and 400 degrees per second were r = 0.747 to 0.868 and r = 0.750 to 0.863.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Only 17 male level 1 soccer players were tested, so the results may not apply to female athletes, other sports, or less trained players. The study was cross-sectional, so it describes limb differences at one time point; it does not show that any rehabilitation programme caused or corrected those differences. The authors note that the small sample may limit statistical power. The highest tested speed was 500 degrees per second, while the paper reports ball-kick knee angular velocities of 1200 to 1900 degrees per second.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest and reported no financial or material support for the work.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that the lack of significant differences at 400 and 500 degrees per second means the operated limb has fully recovered. The operated limb still had lower extensor torque at 60, 180 and 300 degrees per second, and most H/Qconv and H/Qfunc values were outside the proposed normal ranges.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →