Playing Performance After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Among Australian Football League Players From 1999 to 2013

Background: Achieving preinjury levels of athletic performance has been challenging for elite athletes after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Although a recent study found that 77% of Australian Football League (AFL) players who underwent ACL reconstruction from 1999 to 2013 returned...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American journal of sports medicine 2019-06, Vol.47 (7), p.1550-1556
Main Authors: Lai, Courtney C.H., Feller, Julian A., Webster, Kate E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Anterior Cruciate Ligament - surgery
Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries - rehabilitation
Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries - surgery
Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction - rehabilitation
Athletic Injuries - rehabilitation
Athletic Injuries - surgery
Athletic Performance
Australia
Australian football
Humans
Knee
Male
Odds Ratio
Professional football
Recovery of Function
Return to Sport
Sports
Sports injuries
Sports medicine
Time Factors
Treatment Outcome
Young Adult
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Summary:Background: Achieving preinjury levels of athletic performance has been challenging for elite athletes after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Although a recent study found that 77% of Australian Football League (AFL) players who underwent ACL reconstruction from 1999 to 2013 returned to play at the highest level, the study did not indicate how consistently or well they were able to play. Purpose: To identify the number of AFL players who returned to play consistently over 2 seasons after ACL reconstruction, compare their playing performance in these seasons with preinjury performance, and evaluate factors associated with returning to preinjury levels of performance. Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: Analysis included 104 AFL players who underwent ACL reconstruction between 1999 and 2013. All had played at least 10 AFL matches in 1 season before ACL injury. Ranking points, as devised by AFL statisticians, were used to measure individual playing performance. Results: Of the 104 players who played at least 10 matches in 1 season before ACL injury, 53 (51%) returned to play at least 10 matches in 2 seasons after surgery. Of these 53 players, 36 (68%) returned to their preinjury levels of performance. The 17 remaining players who did not return to their preinjury performance still performed comparably to the AFL average level after surgery. Players
ISSN:0363-5465
1552-3365
DOI:10.1177/0363546519843908