The Influence of Cognitive Dual Tasking on the Outcomes of the Triple Hop Test Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction.
Roberto Ricupito, Alberto Grassi, Matteo Zanuso and 1 others
PMID 39758699WHAT IT FOUND
Patients post-ACL reconstruction hopped significantly further on their healthy leg than their surgical leg.
Unexpectedly, adding a cognitive task caused a larger performance drop on the healthy leg than the surgical leg, suggesting both limbs are vulnerable to cognitive load.
Key findings
01Single-task hop distance was significantly greater on the healthy limb compared to the surgical limb.
02The healthy limb showed a higher percentage decline in performance (dual-task cost) compared to the surgical limb.
03All participants had previously integrated neurocognitive training into their rehabilitation, which may explain the surgical limb's resilience to dual-tasking.
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 (17 patients) limits generalizability. All patients had undergone neurocognitive training, so the results cannot be applied to patients who did not receive this specific intervention. The study only measured hop distance, not movement quality (e.g., knee valgus), which is critical for injury risk. Cognitive task accuracy was not assessed, so it is unclear if patients prioritized the physical or cognitive task. No control group of patients who did not undergo neurocognitive training was included. Strength data were not collected, so performance deficits cannot be attributed to muscle weakness versus neural factors.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the greater dual-task cost in the healthy limb as evidence that the surgical limb is 'better' or more stable. This finding is likely confounded by the fact that all patients received neurocognitive training specifically targeting the surgical limb during rehabilitation, and the study did not include a control group without this training.