Brief summary, from the abstract
In male athletes after ACL reconstruction, meeting objective discharge criteria, rather than hitting a fixed 9-month timeline, was what mattered for returning to pivoting sport, and once those criteria were met the timing of return did not change the risk of a new knee or ACL injury.
- Prospective study following 530 male pivoting-sport athletes through rehab and out to 2 years after ACL reconstruction; 379 (72%) returned to pivoting sports.
- Athletes who completed rehab and met discharge criteria (n=190) were almost 6 times more likely to return to their preinjury sport (OR 5.71; 95% CI 3.39 to 9.62).
- Among those who met criteria, returning before versus after 9 months showed no increased risk of new knee injury (HR 0.892, 95% CI 0.39 to 2.07, p=0.79) or new ACL injury (HR 0.718, 95% CI 0.24 to 2.17, p=0.56).
- Observational cohort in male athletes only; the protective signal is tied to passing objective readiness criteria rather than to elapsed time alone.
Clinically assessing this area? See the knee special tests.