Paper Title
Evaluation of Gait Alterations in ACL-Reconstructed Athletes During Rehabilitation
Abstract
This study aimed to assess symmetrical changes of gait parameters in athletes with ACL reconstruction during
rehabilitation program. Gait analysis was performed on 22 ACL-reconstructed athletes at three periods of their rehabilitation
and once for 15 healthy athletes using motion analysis system. Asymmetry indexes of step length, cadence, stance time
(STT), and weight acceptance time were evaluated for both groups. One way and repeated measure multivariate analyses of
variance were used to analyze the data. The linear combination of parameters showed significant difference with control
group at Test 1 (P=0.007). Asymmetry index of STT was the only variable that reduced significantly from Test 1 to Test 3
(P=0.004). By applying identical rehabilitation program, ACL-reconstructed athletes restored symmetries in spatio-temporal
gait parameters towards the control group’s range 12-13 weeks post-surgery. The data also suggested that inter-correlation of
variables should consider for evaluating gait improvements.
Keywords- ACL reconstruction, Cadence, Stance time, Step length, Symmetry, Weight acceptance time.