The effectiveness of nonoperative treatment for anterior cruciate ligament rupture on patient-reported outcomes and muscular strength: A critically appraised topic

Clinical Scenario: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ruptures are one of the most common injuries in young athletic populations. The leading treatment for these injuries is ACL reconstruction (ACL-r); however, nonoperative treatments are also utilized. Following ACL-r, patients experience prolonged muscle weakness and atrophy of the quadriceps muscle group, regardless of rehabilitation. Nonoperative treatment plans following ACL injury exist, but their outcomes are less familiar, in spite of providing insight as a nonsurgical “control” for postsurgical rehabilitation outcomes. Therefore, the purpose of this critically appraised topic was to evaluate quadriceps strength and function following nonoperative ACL rehabilitation using objective and subjective measures including isokinetic dynamometry, the single-leg hop test, and the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) subjective knee form. Focused Clinical Question: What are the effects of nonoperative treatment on peak isokinetic knee-extensor torque, the single-leg hop tests, and the IKDC in patients who have sustained an ACL rupture? Summary of Key Findings: Patients who underwent nonsurgical ACL treatment produced limb symmetry index, with the side-to-side torque difference expressed as a percentage, and values at or above 90% for all 4 single-leg hop tests and strength tests similar to ACL-r patients. All studies showed individuals had higher IKDC scores at baseline collection when compared with patients who underwent ACL-r but showed lower IKDC scores at long-term followup compared with ACL-r patients. Clinical Bottom Line: Nonoperative treatments of ACL injuries yield similar long-term results in quadriceps strength as ACL-r. Due to the quality of evidence and the absence of randomized controlled trials on this topic, these outcomes should be considered with caution. Strength of Recommendation: The Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine taxonomy recommends a grade of B for level 2 evidence with consistent findings.