A critical appraisal of "The efficacy of continuous passive motion in the rehabilitation of anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions."

This paper delves deeply into the comparison of two different rehabilitation methods following ACL reconstructive surgery. In pursuit of more information in this field, a literature search was performed, and one journal article was selected for appraisal. This journal article, The efficacy of continuous passive motion in the rehabilitation of anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions, compares the efficacy of continuous passive motion (CPM) to the efficacy of early active motion training. The authors do this by taking patients directly after surgery and placing them into three different treatment groups: one practicing only CPM training, one practicing only early active motion training and one practicing both treatments. The researchers measured the subject's knee range of motion and anterior laxity and then compared the three groups at certain intervals of time up to 6 months post-surgery. After the 6 months had passed, the researchers found that both rehabilitation methods achieved the same range of motion and stability levels and that there were no significant differences in the results between the three groups. These results were clinically significant because they proved that both methods are equally efficient and safe. This conclusion benefits the field because it allows patients and healthcare providers to have more viable options for ACL rehabilitation without sacrificing stability or range of motion.