Post-operative bracing after ACL reconstruction has no effect on XXXX . A prospective, randomized study.

@entity1143 @entity1 @entity130
BACKGROUND: It is unclear what factors contribute to @entity1143 after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and reconstruction. Knee homeostasis after injury and surgery is crucial for rehabilitation and knee well-being. We examined if effusion was affected by post-operative bracing, and if @entity1 with effusion fit into a common profile. METHODS: @entity1 were randomized to wearing or not wearing a post-operative brace for three weeks after ACL reconstruction with semitendinosus-gracilis tendons. @entity1143 was detected by computed tomography in 60 @entity1 (22 @entity1 ), before and three and 12months after surgery. Joint effusion, clinical and subjective tests were analyzed. RESULTS: This is the first prospective, randomized study on post-operative bracing for @entity1 with a semitendinosus-gracilis graft showed that bracing had no effect on three-months presence of joint effusion. @entity1143 was present in 68% of the @entity1 three months after surgery and was associated to prior @entity130 (p=0.05) and higher prior Tegner activity level (p=0.006). We found a positive association between longer time from @entity130 three months post-operatively (rho=0.29, p<0.05). Twelve months post-operatively, joint effusion had diminished to baseline levels. Subjective scores and activity levels were lower for @entity1 . Three-months joint effusion predicted lower final outcome scores in @entity1 . CONCLUSION: Prior @entity130 and pre-injury Tegner activity levels are predictive significant variables for excessive @entity1143 after ACL reconstruction. Post-operative bracing had no effect. A larger clinical cohort is needed to confirm findings of this logistic regression. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: I.
