Psychological Readiness to Return to Sport Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

Abstract

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears are among the most common athletic injuries in the United States, and reconstruction is often necessary for athletes to be able to return to their pre-injury level of sport. Following ACL reconstruction, many athletes are not able to return to sport. A number of factors have been identified that could account for the return-to-sport discrepancy; however, psychological readiness can have an important influence on an athlete's ability to return to sport. Various interventions aimed at improving psychological factors have shown mixed results, although overall they seem promising. Sociodemographic factors (e.g., age, sex, and race) appear to have an influence on psychological readiness to return to sport; however, little research has been conducted on this topic.