What is it about?
Discrepancies in functional outcomes and second injury risk for men and women following ACL reconstruction are becoming increasingly apparent. This study compared the gait patterns of men and women both before and 6 months after ACL reconstruction in an attempt to understand some of the underlying factors which may be related to poorer post-surgical outcomes in women.
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Why is it important?
Both men and women continued to demonstrate walking gait asymmetries 6 months after ACL reconstruction, regardless of an intensive rehabilitation protocol. Increased kinematic and kinetic asymmetries were particularly pronounced in women 6 months after surgery. The findings from this study indicate that our current evidence-based rehabilitation guidelines following ACL reconstruction do not restore normal gait mechanics. Prospective studies evaluating the effect of sex on movement are required to validate these initial findings.
Perspectives
Our findings, though preliminary, add significantly to the current evidence in the sports medicine literature which demonstrates the inferior outcomes of women compared to men following ACL reconstruction. The persistence of abnormal gait 6 months after surgery in both men and women should be considered when determining reasonable time frames for return to sport. These data also served to springboard the next phase of Dr. Snyder-Mackler's current NIH project (R01-AR048212-10) which is testing the efficacy of post-operative neuromuscular training in improving post-operative outcomes, with particular attention to its effects on female athletes.
Dr Stephanie Di Stasi
Ohio State University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Sex-Specific Gait Adaptations Prior to and up to 6 Months After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction, Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy, March 2015, Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy (JOSPT),
DOI: 10.2519/jospt.2015.5062.
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