Brief summary, from the abstract
In this small matched pilot study, patients who attended physiotherapy only minimally after ACL reconstruction had outcomes at least as good as those who attended regularly, suggesting the optimal amount of supervised physiotherapy after ACL surgery is still unclear.
- Compared 10 patients who attended physiotherapy infrequently (mean 1.9 visits) with 10 matched patients who attended regularly (mean 26.5 visits), assessed at 12 months.
- The minimal-physiotherapy group reported fewer symptoms (mean Cincinnati symptom score 46.2 v 43.4, p = 0.045) and a trend toward higher overall Cincinnati knee scores (93.7 v 87.3, p = 0.06), with no difference in IKDC ratings.
- This is a very small pilot study (n = 20) of patients who self-selected their attendance, so it can only generate hypotheses rather than guide practice.
Clinically assessing this area? See the knee special tests.