Return to Sport: When Should an Athlete Return to Sport After an ACL Surgery?

Abstract

A torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), followed by reconstruction surgery, can be devastating for an athlete. Advances in physical therapy now help athletes improve rapidly during the early period after surgery. However, guidelines on how to determine if it is safe to return to sport are more general and vary widely. Athletes and the people who care about and for them need reliable and valid methods to determine when they are ready to return to sport. A study published in the June 2011 issue of JOSPT provides new insight and evidence-based tools to help answer this question.