Contralateral muscle rehabilitation post ACL reconstruction
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The EFficacy of COntralateral muscle Rehabilitation exercise following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (EFCOR)
IRAS ID
200401
Contact name
Andrea Bailey
Contact email
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 2 months, 16 days
Research summary
Unilateral orthopaedic injuries carry a risk of significant asymmetry of neuromuscular function, where the function of the injured limb becomes much less than the non-injured limb. Disuse and immobilisation result in losses to muscle strength, cross-sectional area and functional capabilities and changes to muscle composition and it's activation by the nervous system. These changes can be exacerbated in the injured limb by pain and swelling.
This research will evaluate the efficacy of a cross-education intervention within a rehabilitation setting. The cross-education phenomenon describes the strength gain in the opposite, untrained limb following unilateral resistance training of the ‘trained’ limb and is well-documented in healthy and athletic populations. The cross-education effect after contralateral strength training can average up to 50% of that observed for the trained side i.e, strength gains in the injured untrained limb can be as much as 50% of those achieved in the trained limb. In orthopaedic populations, the magnitude of this effect could offer the opportunity to accelerate the rehabilitation process and restore function more quickly in the injured limb, with little or no net cost.
Physiotherapy for musculoskeletal conditions involve attempts to restore symmetry of performance by focused rehabilitation predominantly of the injured limb after the period of enforced immobilisation, when symptoms permit. Contemporary rehabilitation endeavours to treat patients holistically, but no scientific evidence exists to evaluate a formal rehabilitation guide with a specific focus on contralateral limb training. This is important since deterioration of function and performance of the injured limb can be worsened acutely due to inhibition of muscle function by pain and swelling and may hinder the overall rehabilitation process.
The research objectives are to evaluate the short- (8-weeks) and medium-term (6 months) effects of contralateral resistance training on the neuromuscular, functional and patient-perceived performance of the ACL-reconstructed limb, compared to a control group.
REC name
East Midlands - Nottingham 2 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/EM/0222
Date of REC Opinion
1 Jun 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion