Adherence to rehabilitation after anterior cruciate ligament reconstructive surgery: Implications for outcome

Objective: To investigate the relationship between adherence to rehabilitation and outcome after reconstructive surgery of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Design: A prospective cohort study with adherence to rehabilitation evaluated over 8 weeks correlated with outcomes at 9 and 12 months postsurgery. Participants: 68 patients who had undergone ACL-reconstructive surgery. Main Outcome Measures: Adherence was measured to and during appointments and by a self-report diary of home exercise. Outcomes were measured by 6 knee-function scales and 2 hop tests. Results: There was a significant relationship between home-exercise adherence and many outcomes for participants under 30 years of age (rs = .33-.44). For participants age 30 and over there was a negative relationship between home-exercise adherence and outcome. There were no significant relationships between adherence to and during physical therapy appointments and outcome after ACL-reconstructive surgery. Conclusion: Participants under 30 years of age who adhered to their home-exercise regimen had better functional outcome, whereas adherent participants age 30 and over experienced worse outcome with better home-exercise adherence. © 2005 Human Kinetics, Inc.