Effects of Femoral vs Saphenous Nerve Blocks on Function After ACL Repair

Effects of Femoral Versus Saphenous Nerve Blocks on Knee Extensor Strength, Pain, and Patient-Perceived Physical Function Following ACL Reconstruction

Status

Terminated

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT01919658

Enrollment

Registered

2013-08-09

Start date

2013-07-31

Completion date

2019-06-10

Last updated

2019-06-21

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Anterior Cruciate Ligament

Keywords

nerve blocks in Anterior cruciate ligament surgery

Brief summary

The primary objective of the study is to compare motor strength in knee extension between two groups of patients. One group receiving a proximal thigh block of the femoral nerve, and one receiving a distal thigh block of the saphenous nerve. The secondary objective is to compare the pain relief and functional outcomes in these two groups.

Interventions

PROCEDUREnerve block

A nerve block performed as per standard of care: femoral nerve blocks, and saphenous nerve blocks performed more distally (within 10cm superior to the adductor tubercle).

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 65 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

1. Age 18-65 2. Upcoming ACL reconstruction using patellar tendon autograft scheduled at Hershey Medical Center or the Hershey Outpatient Surgical Center (HOSC)

Exclusion criteria

1. Documented neuropathy 2. Skeletally immature 3. Previous knee surgery 4. Inability to provide informed consent 5. ACL reconstruction with other tendon repairs

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
strength of knee extensors	change from baseline preoperatively at 12 months	Extensor testing will be conducted in both legs using a hand held dynamometer.

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
pain level and functional outcomes	change from in hospital post-operative period at 12 months	Medical record will be reviewed for type and amount of in hospital post operative medication and levels, then assessed by PROMIS survey at follow up appointments.

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026