Prognosis of early supervised rehabilitation after knee arthroscopic surgery

Abstract

Objectives: The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of the most commonly injured knee ligaments. The majority of ACL tears are treated with arthroscopic reconstruction surgery. However, the literature on early postoperative rehabilitation is deficient. This study aims to determine the effects of early and supervised rehabilitation following an arthroscopic reconstruction on pain and function in the patients. In addition, the impact on rehabilitation unit discharge timing. Methods: A retrospective single-center study reviewed all post-operative unilateral arthroscopic ACL reconstructions using hamstring auto-graft with or without arthroscopic meniscectomy or meniscal repair, followed by standardized supervised rehabilitation in the hospital unit, from January 2017 to January 2020. Patients were divided into two groups: Those who started supervised rehabilitation within 14 days and those who started it after 14 days. Results: The mean duration from the day of surgery to the start of rehabilitation was (In Group I; mean: 10.97 and standard deviation [SD]: 3.21, in Group II; mean: 27.27 SD: 17.92). Both study groups improved significantly from the baseline in terms of pain, knee flexion and extension, and manual muscle testing (P ≤ 0.05). Patients in Group I who underwent isolated ACL reconstruction had the highest percentage of pain and degree of knee flexion changes (80% and 54.2%, respectively). The discharge time in Group I was faster than in Group II. Conclusion: Early supervised rehabilitation after arthroscopic ACL reconstruction can begin within the first 2 post-operative weeks, resulting in faster recovery, reduced total rehabilitation time, and a quicker return to the patient’s previous level of activities.