External Focus of Attention Posttraumatic Osteoarthritis

University of North Carolina, Charlotte45 enrolled

Overview

Knee injuries, especially those to the ACL, are common among physically active people. These injuries are frequently treated with surgical reconstruction (ACL reconstruction; ACLR). While ACLR restores stability it does not protect against future injury, long-term pain, disability, and arthritis associated with these injuries. Our study is going to examine new ways to provide feedback about the way people move to determine if these are better at modifying movement patterns that are known risk factors of posttraumatic osteoarthritis development than current standard treatments. If you participate, you will be asked to undergo a movement analysis in a research laboratory while you perform tasks such as walking and hopping. After this initial assessment, you will be randomly allocated to one of 2 treatment groups. Each treatment group will perform 4 weeks (3x/week) of exercises to change the way people walk. Participants will then report for follow-up movement analysis testing 1- and 4-weeks after completing the intervention.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE

Enrollment

Conditions

Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries Anterior Cruciate Ligament Rupture

Interventions

Internal focus of attention feedbackOTHER

Participants will complete 12 sessions over a 3-week period of functional movement retraining while receiving mirror feedback. Participants will be instructed to perform each functional task in a manner that keeps their knee in line with their toes.

External focus of attention feedbackOTHER

Participants will complete 12 sessions over a 3-week period of functional movement retraining while receiving visual feedback via laser. Participants will be instructed to perform each functional task in a manner that does causes the laser to move up and down but not side-to-side.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 35 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * history of primary, unilateral ACL reconstruction 6-24 months prior to enrollment * cleared to return to full activity by treating orthopedic surgeon Exclusion Criteria: * Body mass index \>35 kg/m2 * History of musculoskeletal injury sustained 3 months prior to enrollment * Current participation in formal post-operative rehabilitation

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Changes from baseline in lower extremity biomechanics during walking

Knee and hip angles and loads measured via 3D biomechanics

Time frame: 1-week post-intervention, 4-weeks post-intervention

Knee cartilage health

Knee cartilage thickness measured using diagnostic ultrasound imaging