Secondary Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury Prevention Training in Athletes: What Is the Missing Link?

Abstract

After reconstruction, the return to full competition rate of athletes is low, while the re-injury rate remains high despite the completion of a rehabilitation programme. Primary ACL prevention programmes are well developed, yet few research papers focus on secondary ACL injury prevention. The aim of current review is to determine if current ACL secondary prevention training has a positive influence on the re-injury rate, the clinical or functional outcomes, or the risk of re-injury in athletes. Studies investigating secondary prevention of ACL were searched in PubMed and EBSCOhost, followed by a review of the references in the identified articles. The existing evidence suggests that neuromuscular training, eccentric strengthening, and plyometric exercises may have a potential impact on improving biomechanical, functional, and psychological outcomes in athletes; however, the studies on the prevention of second ACL injury in athletes is scarce and inconclusive. Future research is needed to investigate the effectiveness of secondary ACL prevention in reducing the re-injury rates. (PROSPERO Registration number: CRD42021291308).