Return to Sport After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction in a Cohort of Division I NCAA Athletes From a Single Institution.
Abstract
<h4>Background</h4>Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears are common in collegiate
athletes. The rate of return to the preinjury level of sport activities after ACL
reconstruction continues to evolve.<h4>Purpose/hypothesis</h4>The purpose was to determine
the return-to-sport rate after ACL reconstruction in a cohort of National Collegiate
Athletic Association Division I athletes in different sports. It was hypothesized
that, with intensive supervision of rehabilitation, the return-to-sport rate would
be optimal.<h4>Study design</h4>Case series; Level of evidence, 4.<h4>Methods</h4>We
retrospectively reviewed the records of 75 collegiate athletes from a single institution
who had undergone unilateral or bilateral ACL reconstruction between 2001 and 2013
and participated in an extensive supervised rehabilitation program. Prospectively
collected athlete data as well as data about preinjury exposure, associated lesions,
surgical technique, time lost to injury, number of games missed, time to return to
full sport activity or retire, and subsequent surgical procedures were extracted from
the medical and athletic trainer records.<h4>Results</h4>The 75 patients (40 male,
35 female; mean age, 20.1 years) underwent 81 reconstruction procedures (73 primary,
8 revision). The mean follow-up was 19.3 months. The overall return-to-sport rate
was 92%. After reconstruction, 9 athletes (12%) retired from collegiate sports, but
3 of them returned to sport activities after graduation. Overall, 8 athletes (11%)
experienced an ACL graft retear.<h4>Conclusion</h4>The return-to-sport rate in our
National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I athletes compared favorably with
that reported in other studies in the literature. The strict follow-up by the surgeon,
together with the high-profile, almost daily technical and psychological support given
mainly by the athletic trainers during the recovery period, may have contributed to
preparing the athletes for a competitive rate of return to sport at their preinjury
level.
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/22542Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1177/2325967120982281Publication Info
Zampogna, Biagio; Vasta, Sebastiano; Torre, Guglielmo; Gupta, Akhil; Hettrich, Carolyn
M; Bollier, Matthew J; ... Amendola, Annunziato (2021). Return to Sport After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction in a Cohort of Division
I NCAA Athletes From a Single Institution. Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine, 9(2). pp. 2325967120982281. 10.1177/2325967120982281. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/22542.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Annunziato Amendola
Virginia Flowers Baker Distinguished Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery
Chief of Sports Medicine

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