Abstract
CONTEXT: The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is well researched since injuries typically result in lengthy recoveries and rehabilitation periods until athletes can return to full activity. Although a large body of literature on the early and late stages of rehabilitation after ACL reconstructive (ACLR) surgery exists, less is known regarding the mid-phase of ACL rehabilitation and healthy versus injured limb differences in functional testing during this stage. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to determine if Y-Balance Test (YBT) scores obtained during the mid-phase of ACLR rehabilitation change over months 4, 5, and 6. DESIGN: Case series. SETTING: Research laboratory. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS: A total of 27 participants (17 females; 18.96 ± 3.02 years [range, 15-24]; 173.63 ± 10.29 cm; 72.55 ± 17.83 kg) who sustained a unilateral ACL injury, experienced no episodes of instability or knee giving away, had not suffered a previous ACL injury, and expressed a desire to return to sport at the end of rehabilitation came in once a month after ACLR to participate in a battery of tests. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Y-Balance Test scores in the anterior, posterolateral (PL), and posteromedial (PM) directions in the healthy and reconstructed limbs. RESULTS: A main effect for limb was observed for the anterior (healthy: month 4: 78.8 ± 5.8 cm, month 5: 79.5 ± 5.2 cm, and month 6: 79.4 ± 5.8 cm; reconstructed: month 4: 77.2 ± 5.9 cm, month 5: 78.5 ± 5.1 cm, and month 6: 78.1 ± 6.4 cm; P = .023) and PM (healthy: month 4: 80.0 ± 8.7 cm, month 5: 81.0 ± 9.1 cm, and month 6: 82.9 ± 8.9 cm; reconstructed: month 4: 79.3 ± 6.8 cm, month 5: 79.4 ± 8.2 cm, and month 6: 81.1 ± 8.5 cm; P = .013) directions, indicating that the reconstructed limb performed worse than the healthy limb. A main effect for time was observed for the PL direction (healthy: month 4: 74.5 ± 8.1 cm, month 5: 75.8 ± 7.4 cm, and month 6: 77.6 ± 8.2 cm; reconstructed: month 4: 74.1 ± 8.6 cm, month 5: 74.6 ± 7.7 cm, and month 6: 76.8 ± 9.8 cm; P = .023). CONCLUSIONS: The YBT measured improvement in the PL direction across time in the reconstructed limb. In the PM and anterior directions, the YBT did not measure these same improvements across this period.