Male and Female Adolescent Athletes' Readiness to Return to Sport After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury and Reconstruction.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine whether readiness to return to sport (RTS) differed between adolescent male and female athletes after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). Longitudinal, prospective cohort. Outpatient office associated with tertiary-care hospital. A total of 93 adolescent athletes, 17 years of age and younger, who underwent ACLR surgery with a hamstring autograft were included. Male and female athletes. Anterior cruciate ligament-return to sport after injury (ACL-RSI) completed at 3 time points: (1) preoperatively (Pre-op), (2) approximately 3 months into rehabilitation (Post-op 1), and (3) during RTS phases of recovery (Post-op 2). There was a significant main effect for both sex (P < 0.010) and time (P < 0.0001) with male athletes having higher ACL-RSI scores than female athletes at all 3 time points; however, there was no significant time by sex interaction. All ACL-RSI scores increased significantly across time, regardless of sex. There were no statistically significant differences between ACL-RSI scores at all 3 time points between individuals who did and did not receive physician clearance. This study provides a longitudinal depiction of adolescent athletes' readiness to RTS after ACL injury throughout recovery. Both male and female athletes demonstrated diminished ACL-RSI scores before undergoing surgery, with increasing scores at both postoperative time points for both sexes. Overall, female athletes reported lower readiness to RTS at all 3 time points compared with male athletes.