Sports

摘要

ACL injury from childhood to adult life X-ref Despite the humble anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear being one of the most common injuries in sports medicine, it is somewhat disappointing to review the literature on its long-term outcomes. There is little known about the impact of the injury itself in terms of long-term arthritis development or functional and quality-of-life scores, let alone the likely outcome of the various treatment options. While there is much focus on the paediatric reconstructive options in acute knee injury and the potential effects on return to play and growth plate disturbance, the longer-term outcomes following these injuries do not receive the same amount of attention. We were therefore delighted, here at 360, to read this paper from Oslo (Norway), which reports on a series of 44 patients, all of whom sustained an ACL injury before their 13th birthday.1 Patients were followed up to an average of eight years following injury and were treated with rehabilitation and, if necessary, a delayed reconstruction. Patients were evaluated with a range of clinical and patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) including the hop tests, isokinetic muscle strength, the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), and the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) Subjective Knee Form, supplemented with clinical examination. In terms of the need for reconstruction, just over half of the patients (n = 24) had opted to undergo ACL reconstruction during the study follow-up period. The functional results were good for the cohort, with > 90% symmetry seen in hop tests; 68% achieved relative symmetry in muscle strength testing. There were no overall differences in either of the recorded PROMs; however, although over 90% of patients remained playing sports, two-thirds had restricted their activity.