Skip to content

Mindfulness and ACL Surgery

The Influence of Mindfulness on Patient-Reported Outcomes, Return to Sport and Re-Injury Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Reconstruction Surgery

Status
Active, not recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05542563
Enrollment
47
Registered
2022-09-15
Start date
2022-07-01
Completion date
2027-08-01
Last updated
2026-04-29

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

Conditions

ACL, ACL Injury

Keywords

ACL Surgery, mindfulness

Brief summary

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery patients experience physical trauma, both in the physical injury itself and following surgery, and face potential long-lasting adverse effects such as muscle weakness, diminished joint function, hip pain, and fear. Many of these patients report more significant anxiety and depression following surgery, which can further compound these patients' adverse outcomes. This study is a single-blind, randomized controlled trial design to evaluate the effects of a remotely-delivered 8-week mindfulness intervention on patient-reported outcomes (PROs) following ACL reconstruction surgery.

Detailed description

Rationale and Approach: ACL reconstruction surgery patients experience physical trauma, both in the physical injury itself and following surgery, and face potential adverse long-lasting effects such as muscle weakness, arthritis, persistent knee pain, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, and fear of re-injury. Many of these patients report sufficient psychological trauma that undermines a return to sport and potentially contributes to the risk of re-injury to the repaired knee. This study is a single-blind, randomized controlled trial design to evaluate the effects of a remotely-delivered 8-week mindfulness intervention on patient-reported outcomes following ACL reconstruction surgery. * Specific Aim 1: To determine the influence of mindfulness training on patient-reported outcomes and return to sport following ACL reconstruction surgery * Hypothesis 1: Mindfulness training will be associated with improvements in pain, quality of life, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress and fear of re-injury, as well as greater likelihood of returning to sport in the 24 months following ACL reconstruction surgery * Specific Aim 2: To determine the influence of mindfulness training on re-injury risk following ACL reconstruction surgery * Hypothesis 2: Among those participants that return to sport, mindfulness training will be associated with a decreased risk of ipsilateral ACL rupture in the 24 months following ACL reconstruction surgery * Specific Aim 3: To determine the factors that influence mindfulness efficacy in patient-reported outcomes and return to sport following ACL reconstruction surgery * Hypothesis 3: Among participants in the mindfulness group, total duration of mindfulness training and female gender will be independently associated with improvements in pain, quality of life, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress and fear of re-injury, as well as greater likelihood of returning to sport in the 24 months following ACL reconstruction surgery

Interventions

The full HMP app includes 5 modules with practices designed to cultivate categories of mental and emotional skills linked to both hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. These include the cultivation of mindful attention (Awareness), positive relationships with self and others (Connection), insight into the nature of self and internal experience (Insight), and purpose, values, and meaning in life (Purpose), as well as an initial module which includes abbreviated introductions to the topics and lessons in all four areas (Foundations). For this study, the active intervention will include 4 weeks of training using the Foundations module followed by 4 weeks of training using the Awareness module.

Sponsors

University of Wisconsin, Madison
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Caregiver)

Masking description

All healthcare providers involved in the care of the participant following surgery (surgeon, physician's assistants, nurses, medical assistants, etc.) will be blinded to the group assignment of each participant.

Intervention model description

a single-blind, randomized controlled trial design to evaluate the effects of a remotely-delivered 8-week mindfulness intervention on patient-reported outcomes following ACL reconstruction surgery

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
16 Years to 40 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* 16-40 years old at the time of the pre-operative visit * Regular access to a mobile device compatible with the Healthy Minds Program (HMP) App (Android or iOS) * Undergoing ACL surgery

Exclusion criteria

* Prior diagnosis of serious mental illness (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, schizoaffective disorder, etc). * Significant prior experience with meditation or mindfulness, defined as greater than 30 minutes in a month during the past year * Knee injury requiring multi-ligament reconstruction * Prior ipsilateral knee surgery * Prior contralateral ACL reconstruction

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in PROMIS Global Health Questionnaire (GHQ) Scorebaseline, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months post surgeryGlobal quality of life (QoL) will be assessed via a 9-item questionnaire scored on a 0-100 scale where higher scores indicate better QoL, pain interference, and fatigue.
Change in PROMIS Anxiety Questionnaire Scorebaseline, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months post surgeryAnxiety will be assessed via an 8-item questionnaire scored from 0-5 where higher scores represents greater anxiety.
Change in PROMIS Depression Questionnaire Scorebaseline, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months post surgeryDepression will be assessed via an 8-item questionnaire scored from 0-5 where higher scores represents greater depression.
Change in Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation (SANE) Scorebaseline, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months post surgeryPain severity is assessed via a single item survey scored from 0-100 where a higher score indicates greater pain.
Change in Horowitz Impact of Events Scale Scorebaseline, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months post surgeryPost-traumatic stress is assessed via a 15-item survey scored from 0-3 where higher scores indicate greater level of post-traumatic stress.
Change in Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia 11 (TSK-11) Scorebaseline, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months post surgeryFear of re-injury is assessed via an 11-item survey scored from 1-4 where higher scores indicate a greater fear of re-injury.
Change in Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) Scorebaseline, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months post surgeryPain catastrophizing is assessed via a 13-item survey scored from 0-4 where higher scores indicate a higher level of pain catastrophizing.
Change in Anterior Cruciate Ligament Return to Sport After Injury scale (ACL-RSI) Scorebaseline, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months post surgeryPsychological readiness is assessed via a 12-item survey scored on an 11-point scale where higher scores indicate a higher level of readiness.
Change in Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS) Scorebaseline, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months post surgeryAthletic identity is assessed via a 10-item survey with a total range of scores from 10-70 where higher scores indicate a higher level of athletic identity.
Change in International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) Subjective Knee Evaluation Form Scorebaseline, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months post surgeryKnee function is assessed via a 10-item survey scored from 0-10 where higher scores means less limitation with activities and less symptoms.
Change in General physical activity questionnaire (GPAQ) Measured as Minutes of Total Physical Activity per daybaseline, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months post surgeryHigher score indicates higher physical activity.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Knee Range of Motion6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months post surgery
Peak Torque6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months post surgeryParticipants will undergo testing of resisted flexion and extension to determine peak torque
Peak Torque Relative to Body Weight6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months post surgeryParticipants will undergo testing of resisted flexion and extension to determine peak torque relative to body weight
Hamstring to Quadriceps Torque Ratio6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months post surgeryParticipants will undergo testing of resisted flexion and extension to determine hamstring to quadriceps torque ratio.
Change in Jump Landing Assessment: Force Measures6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months post surgeryloading force, acceleration force, landing force, peak landing force on both legs together
Change in Jump Height6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months post surgery
Change in Vertical Hop Testing: Force Measures6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months post surgerydown force, up force, landing force, peak landing force on a single leg
Change in Hop Height6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months post surgery
Total Duration of Mindfulness Intervention in the Mindfulness Groupup to 24 months
Number of Participants Who Return to Sportup to 24 months

Countries

United States

Contacts

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORAndrew Watson, MD, MS

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Apr 30, 2026