ADULTS ARE MORE LIKELY THAN ADOLESCENTS TO REPORT EARLY KNEE OA SYMPTOMS 6 MONTHS AFTER ANTERIOR CRUCIATE LIGAMENT RECONSTRUCTION

Abstract

Purpose: One third of adults who experience anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and reconstruction (ACLR) develop radiographic knee osteoarthritis (OA) within 1 decade of surgery. However, recent studies have reported that prevalence of early knee OA symptoms may be as high as 54% within the first year after ACLR. Unfortunately, the majority of work establishing the prevalence of radiographic OA and early knee OA illness after ACLR has focused on adults even though physically active adolescents are at equivalent risk of ACL injury and development of early knee OA.