Functional testing following isolated meniscus repair may help to identify patients who need additional physical therapy prior to a return to activity Journal Article uri icon
Overview
abstract
  • OBJECTIVES: Functional testing (FT), commonly used to evaluate dynamic knee function and provide objective information about how well a patient, has progressed in rehabilitation following an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. The purpose of the study was to determine whether a functional test could be used as an assessment tool for return to activity following isolated meniscus repair. METHODS: The results of FT completed between 80 and 150 days post-operation (representing 4-months post-operative) in isolated meniscal repair patients were analysed for the involved limb, uninvolved limb, and limb symmetry index (LSI). Involved limb performance and LSI on FT were also recorded for a matched cohort of patients who underwent an isolated ACL reconstruction between 151 and 220 days post-operation (representing 6-months post-operative). The meniscus cohort was compared to the ACL cohort. RESULTS: The meniscus cohort (n ​= ​26) performed well (LSI of 88% or better) on all functional test exercises, including all hop tests. There were patients in the meniscus cohort who did not achieve 90% LSI on the FT at 4 months. There was no statistically significant difference in any of the tests between the meniscus and ACL (n ​= ​39) cohorts. CONCLUSION: A majority of isolated meniscal repair patients perform well on FT by 4 months post-operatively and similar to patients undergoing isolated ACL reconstruction at 6 months post-operatively. Not all patients performed well on FT at 4 months post-operatively; however so, there may be a role for FT in isolated meniscal repair patients, and those patients may need further physical therapy prior to a return to sports. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III; Retrospective cohort study. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: IV.

  • Link to Article
    publication date
  • 2024
  • published in
  • J isakos  Journal
  • Research
    keywords
  • Cohort Studies
  • Injuries
  • Knee
  • Orthopedics
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Sports
  • Surgery
  • Additional Document Info
    volume
  • 9
  • issue
  • 4