The Utility of Objective Strength and Functional Performance to Predict Subjective Outcomes After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction.

Background: Many clinicians release patients to return to activity after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) based on time from surgery despite deficits in muscle strength and function. It is unclear whether symmetry or unilateral performance is the best predictor of subjective outcomes after ACLR.

Purpose: To determine physical performance predictors of patient-reported outcomes after reconstruction.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods: A total of 88 participants (49 males, 39 females; mean ± SD height, 174.0 ± 9.6 cm; weight, 76.1 ± 18.5 kg; age, 19.4 ± 3.7 years) who underwent primary, unilateral ACLR volunteered for this study. Participants had undergone reconstruction a mean of 6.9 ± 1.8 months (range, 5.0-14.1 months) before the study. All participants underwent strength testing as well as hop testing and then completed the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) and Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) questionnaires. Stepwise linear regression models were used for symmetry and unilateral performance to identify the proportion of variance explained in the IKDC score, KOOS total score, KOOS-sport subscale, and time from surgery, as well as receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses on those variables that explained the most variance in patient-reported outcomes to determine cutoff thresholds.

Results: No significant correlations were found between time from surgery and objective performance. The only significant predictors of IKDC score were single-hop limb symmetry index (LSI) and age ( R 2 = 0.177) and unilateral triple-hop performance and age ( R 2 = 0.228). The cutoff for single-hop symmetry was 0.92 (area under the curve [AUC], 0.703; P = .012), and the cutoff for normalized triple-hop distance was 3.93 (AUC, 0.726; P = .005). When stratified by age, the cutoff for single-hop symmetry was 0.81 (AUC, 0.721; P = .051) for younger patients (age <19.1 years) and was not significant for older patients (age ≥19.1 years). The cutoff for normalized triple-hop distance was 3.85 (AUC, 0.832; P = .005) in older patients and was not significant for younger patients. The only significant predictors of KOOS-sport subscale were single-hop LSI ( R 2 = 0.140) and normalized knee extensor power at 180 deg/s ( R 2 = 0.096). When subjective outcomes were predicted based on KOOS-sport subscale, the cutoff for single-hop symmetry was 0.85 (AUC, 0.692; P = .018).

Conclusion: Hopping performance is the most predictive functional variable of subjective outcomes after reconstruction. Single-hop symmetry was most important for younger patients and unilateral triple-hop distance was most important for older patients. Clinicians should consider hopping performance when making return-to-activity decisions after ACLR.