Open AccessFunctional assessments for decision‐making regarding return to sports following ACL reconstruction. Part I: development of a new test battery
Author(s) -
Hildebrandt Carolin,
Müller Lisa,
Zisch Barbara,
Huber Reinhard,
Fink Christian,
Raschner Christian
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.806
H-Index - 125
eISSN - 1433-7347
pISSN - 0942-2056
DOI - 10.1007/s00167-015-3529-4
Subject(s) - test (biology) , plyometrics , intraclass correlation , physical therapy , physical medicine and rehabilitation , return to sport , reliability (semiconductor) , psychology , medicine , jump , rehabilitation , psychometrics , developmental psychology , paleontology , power (physics) , physics , quantum mechanics , biology
Purpose Return to activity remains the most common concern following an injury. To facilitate the decision regarding a patient's return to sport, we developed a standardized and easy‐to‐use test battery to enable an objective evaluation of knee function. Methods The test battery consisted of seven functional tests: the two‐leg stability test, one‐leg stability test (OL‐ST), two‐leg countermovement jump (CMJ), one‐leg CMJ (OL‐CMJ), plyometric jumps, speedy test and quick feet test. For each test, the reliability was determined based on the intraclass correlation coefficient. For all one‐leg tests, the limb symmetry index (LSI) was calculated. Results All tests showed a moderate‐to‐high reliability. Normative data from 434 participants were included in the analysis. The subjects were categorized according to age as follows: children (10–14 years), youth (15–19 years), young adults (20–29 years) and adults (30–50 years). The establishment of the functional test values allowed the classification into five normative categories. The LSI for the OL‐ST (98 %) indicated a better performance of the non‐dominant leg. In contrast, high LSI values were found for the OL‐CMJ (124 %), indicating a better performance of the dominant leg. Conclusion Each test was found to be reliable and simple to perform. The better performance of the non‐dominant leg in stability tasks must be considered when interpreting side‐to‐side differences. The established norm data from healthy individuals of each test battery represents an important basis for a clinical setting. Test results from an ACL‐reconstructed patient should be at least classified as a functionally average outcome to support a safe return to sports. Level of evidence IV.