Is Early Postoperative Return to Activity Deleterious to Knees Having ACL Reconstructions?
Although most surgeons recognize that early postoperative mobilization is important to prevent fat pad and knee flexion contractures and help minimize muscle atrophy, early return to activity through weight bearing and other rehabilitative attempts has been viewed with extreme caution. The concern is that the tendon graft would be either elongated and lose its function or actually fail. The two following studies evaluate whether this concern is warranted. Barber-Westin SD, Noyes FR, Heckmann TP, Shaffer BL. The Effect of Exercise and Rehabilitation on Anterior-Posterior Knee Displacements After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Autograft Reconstruction. Am J Sports Med 1999;27(1). The researchers evaluated the amount of displacement of the tibia on the femur using the KT-2000 (the standard for measuring displacements that occur when the ACL is not functioning: an objective Lachman’s test). They followed patients for a minimum of two years after surgery. All patients had a reconstruction for t
