Prehabilitation for Patients Undergoing Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Reduces Kinesiophobia Levels at 1-Year Postoperation
Sean Wei Loong Ho, Ming Foo Kenneth Nah, Oliver Tze Rong Lim, Xiaoe Zhang, Jegathesan T, Lester Teong Jin Tan, Keng Thiam LeeBackground:
Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are the most common knee ligament injuries and ACL reconstruction (ACLR) is often required to restore stability and facilitate return-to-sport. However, kinesiophobia—fear of movement due to risk of reinjury—is prevalent post-ACLR (62% to 78%) and linked to poor return-to-sport outcomes despite good physical recovery.
Hypothesis:
Patient, injury, surgery, and rehabilitation factors can be associated with elevated kinesiophobia in patients undergoing primary ACLR.
Study Design:
Retrospective cohort study.
Level of Evidence:
Level 3.
Methods:
A retrospective review was conducted using data from a tertiary acute hospital’s ACL registry between June 1, 2019 and June 1, 2023. Included were patients aged 18 years to 60 years undergoing primary ACLR. Exclusions were revision ACLR, multiligament injuries, and incomplete 1-year dataset. Demographics, injury/surgery/rehabilitation factors and patient-reported outcomes were measured preoperatively, and at 6 months and 1 year. Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia-17 (TSK-17, with ≥37 indicating elevated kinesiophobia), was recorded preoperatively and 1 year postoperatively. Multivariate regression was used to identify predictors of elevated 1-year kinesiophobia.
Results:
Data from 200 patients were analyzed (8 excluded due to incomplete data). Baseline TSK-17 was 38.6 ± 5.6, improving to 32.6 ± 7.6 at 1 year (
Conclusion:
Prehabilitation before ACLR should be standard-of-care, to reduce risk of elevated kinesiophobia at 1-year.
Clinical Relevance:
High baseline kinesiophobia predicts sustained elevated 1-year kinesiophobia, hence assessment (TSK-17 scores) and early intervention targeting kinesiophobia should be included in preoperative ACLR protocols.