This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Knee brace after ACL surgery does not aid recovery, researchers find
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Wearing a knee brace has no effect on a patient’s recovery after anterior cruciate ligament surgery, according to research published the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.
Rick W. Wright, MD, professor and co-chief of the sports medicine department, and colleagues at Washington University in St. Louis, retrospectively evaluated 29 level 1 or level 2 studies of treatments used following ACL surgery. The researchers reviewed postoperative bracing, accelerated strengthening, home-based rehabilitation, proprioception and neuromuscular training, as well as six other areas conducted in single trials only.
Wright and colleagues found that physical therapy, if started a few days after surgery, can be effective. However, bracing the knee was not effective and only added to the cost of surgery.
“The most important for ACL surgery patients is to start physical therapy early and rigorously,” Wright stated in a press release. “It can be difficult at first, but it is worth it in terms of returning to sports and other activities.”
The researchers also found several promising postoperative therapies. They concluded that proprioception and balance therapies could have benefits, but noted that more research is needed. Additionally, neuromuscular therapy and accelerated rehabilitation did not appear to harm patients, but its benefit was inconclusive. Vitamin therapies were not helpful in helping patients heal after ACL surgery, according to the release.
Reference:
Kruse LM, Gray B, Wright RW. Rehabilitation after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: a systematic review. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2012;94(19):1737-1748. doi: 10.2106/JBJS.K.01246.
Disclosure: Wright has no relevant financial disclosures.
