None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Young Australians have the highest incidence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, with females showing the steepest rise due to greater participation trends in high-risk sporting activities.. Unfortunately, many of these people will experience ACL graft failure, secondary knee injuries, sport/activity limitations, persistent pain, and impaired quality of life despite ACL reconstructive surgery (ACLR). Athletic footwear with appropriate design features (e.g., full-length, medial wedged insole) may reduce harmful loads on the ACL and knee cartilage leading to better outcomes following ACLR.
Interventions
This is a feasibility study that aims to pilot cutting-edge computational modelling methods of knee cartilage load and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) force in 15 post-pubertal females (aged 18-25) having undergone ACL reconstruction (ACLR) 9-12 months prior (typical return-to-sport timeframe) and 15 age-matched female controls with no history of knee or lower limb injury. The interventional component of the study will examine the effects of three footwear conditions (i.e., barefoot plus two sh
This is a feasibility study that aims to pilot cutting-edge computational modelling methods of knee cartilage load and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) force in 15 post-pubertal females (aged 18-25) having undergone ACL reconstruction (ACLR) 9-12 months prior (typical return-to-sport timeframe) and 15 age-matched female controls with no history of knee or lower limb injury. The interventional component of the study will examine the effects of three footwear conditions (i.e., barefoot plus two shod) on knee cartilage/ACL force in the two cohorts (i.e., ACLR and healthy controls) during several sports-related tasks. A comprehensive biomechanical data collection protocol consisting of three-dimensional (3D) motion capture, electromyography (EMG), ground reaction forces and plantar pressure (shod conditions) will be performed as participants complete eight tasks common to ACLR rehabilitation and return-to-sport testing. The tasks will be performed barefoot in order of physical demand: 1. Moderate-paced walking (1.4 m/s), 2. Moderate-paced running (4.0 m/s), 3. Single leg squat to plinth, 4. Double leg countermovement jump, 5. Single leg land off small box, 6. Single leg countermovement jump, 7. Drop land lateral jump, and 8. 45 degree cutting (anticipated and unanticipated). Three repetitions will be performed for each task which will take approximately five minutes to complete. Participants will be required to rest for two-minutes between tasks (time required = 48mins). In addition to barefoot, all participants will be asked to perform tasks #7 and #8 in two different footwear conditions (i.e., athletic shoe with 7mm heel pitch with and without a full-length medial wedged insole) in a randomized order. An additional ~26 mins will be required to complete the second part of the test protocol (i.e., 2 tasks of 5 mins duration plus 2 mins rest between tasks multipled by 2 footwear conditions). As such, the total test time per participant will be approximately 74 mins. Because the footwear intervention will be conducted within the same test session, there is no need to monitor adherence. A research physiotherapist with PhD qualifications will lead and supervise each test session. Other research physiotherapists, biomechanists, research assistants and a research higher degree student will be involved in the data collection process.
Sponsors
The University of Melbourne
Study design
Allocation
Non-randomised trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Prevention
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Subject, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to 25 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria for the clinical cohort include: -Female sex aged between 18-25 having undergone ACLR for an acute unilateral ACL rupture -Recently cleared (<1 month) by their treating orthopaedic surgeon to commence sporting tasks -Prior to their knee injury regularly (once or more per week) performing running, cutting, pivoting, and decelerating during sport as determined by MARS scoring (i.e., scores of 2 or more for each sub-scale) Inclusion criteria for healthy control group include: -Female sex aged between 18-25 -Currently involved in running, cutting, pivoting, and decelerating sporting movements at least once per week as determined by MARS scoring (i.e., scores of 2 or more for each sub-scale)
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria for criteria for the clinical cohort include: -Previous ACL surgeries to either limb. -Other musculoskeletal or neurological condition impacting sporting tasks -Unable or unwilling to undergo MRI -Unable or unwilling to attend the University of Melbourne Department of Physiotherapy gait laboratory for a 2.5 hour testing session -Unable to fit in standard width shoes Exclusion criteria for healthy control group include: Previous knee surgeries to either limb. -Other musculoskeletal or neurological condition impacting current sporting tasks -Unable or unwilling to undergo MRI -Unable or unwilling to attend the University of Melbourne Department of Physiotherapy gait laboratory for a 2.5-hour testing session -Unable to fit in standard width shoes
Outcome results
None listed