Early rehabilitation of acute anterior cruciate ligament injury—a randomized clinical trial

The efficacy of a 6-week rehabilitation program was evaluated in 100 consecutive patients, age 15–42 years, with acute anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Arthroscopy revealed associated lesions in 82% of the patients. Except for resections on menisci with large and unstable lesions, no surgery was performed. The patients were randomly assigned to supervised training or self-monitored training after instruction. Results: At the 6-week follow-up there was no difference between the groups with regard to pain at rest, pain during walking, or experience of giving-way episodes, Tegner activity level or Lysholm knee score. Only 2 of the 100 patients were observed without joint mobility restriction. The only significant difference between the groups was the improvement of muscle function in men in the supervised training group. Conclusion: Six weeks' rehabilitation is too short a time period from original injury to obtain normal mobility and restored knee function.