A critical appraisal of "Anterior cruciate ligament injury-who succeeds without reconstructive surgery?"

This study was designed to look at predictors of successful outcomes for individuals with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear after 2 years of conservative treatment. There was also an effort to look at the changes in these predictions after an initial 5-week rehab program. Patients from the Delaware-Oslo ACL Cohort Study who had not undergone late stage ACL reconstruction were used. Inclusion criteria to be admitted into the study included unilateral ACL tear, age between 13 and 60 years old, participation prior to injury in pivoting sports. Patients were excluded if they had any prior knee injuries to either knee, or any other injury that would limit their ability to complete the initial 5-week neuromuscular strength training rehab program. Results of this study showed that just over 50% of patients had successful outcomes. Based on the different tests done to assess effectiveness, being female, older in age, and performing better on the single leg hop test were all predictive of successful 2-year outcomes.