Twelve-Week Quadriceps Strength as A Predictor of Quadriceps Strength At Time Of Return To Sport Testing Following Bone-Patellar Tendon-Bone Autograft Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction.
Joseph P Hannon, Sharon Wang-Price, Shiho Goto and 5 others
PMID 34123520WHAT IT FOUND
Quadriceps strength at 12 weeks after ACL reconstruction predicts strength at return-to-sport testing.
This allows therapists to identify patients behind schedule early and adjust rehab before they transition out of structured care.
Key findings
01Isokinetic quadriceps strength measured at 12 weeks post-surgery is strongly correlated with strength measured at return-to-sport testing (r = 0.687; p < 0.001).
0212-week quadriceps peak torque explains 47% of the variance in quadriceps peak torque at the time of return-to-sport testing.
03Age and sex did not significantly predict quadriceps strength at return-to-sport when added to the model, explaining only an additional 0.8% of variance.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Participants were not assessed for meeting actual return-to-sport criteria, only strength values were compared. No follow-up beyond return-to-sport testing to confirm if athletes actually returned to sport or suffered re-injury. Generalizability is limited to athletes with bone-patellar tendon-bone autografts; results may differ for hamstring or other graft types. The study did not measure central activation ratio, which can influence voluntary quadriceps strength. Isokinetic dynamometry may not be available in all clinical settings, limiting the practical application of the specific prediction equation.
Declared interests
The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume this study proves that 12-week strength determines whether a patient will successfully return to sport. The study only predicted strength values, not clinical outcomes like re-injury or actual return to play. Additionally, these findings apply specifically to bone-patellar tendon-bone autografts and may not generalize to other graft types.