Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jan;40(1):200-207.
doi: 10.1002/jor.25073. Epub 2021 May 12.

Limb preference impacts single-leg forward hop limb symmetry index values following ACL reconstruction

Brooke Farmer  1 , Dillon Anderson  2 , Dimitrios Katsavelis  3 , Jennifer J Bagwell  4 , Kimberly A Turman  5 , Terry L Grindstaff  1
Affiliations

Limb preference impacts single-leg forward hop limb symmetry index values following ACL reconstruction

Brooke Farmer et al. J Orthop Res. 2022 Jan.

Abstract

Following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction limb dominance for performing tasks is not considered when making rehabilitation progression decisions. The purpose of this study was to determine if strength and functional outcomes differ between individuals who injured their preferred or nonpreferred jumping limb and to determine if these same outcomes differ between individuals who injured their preferred or nonpreferred limb used to kick a ball. A secondary purpose was to determine the association of quadriceps strength and single-leg forward hop performance with patient self-reported function. Forty individuals with ACL reconstruction (age = 20.0 ± 4.6 years, height = 174.2 ± 12.7 cm, mass = 71.2 ± 12.7 kg, time since surgery = 5.3 ± 0.8 months) were included in the study. Primary outcome measures included, International Knee Documentation Committee Subjective Knee Form (IKDC) scores, quadriceps limb symmetry index (LSI) values, and single-leg forward hop LSI values. Limb preference was defined two ways, kicking a ball and performing a unilateral jump. There were no significant differences between groups based on injury to the preferred limb to kick a ball for any of the outcome variables. Individuals who injured their nonpreferred jumping limb demonstrated significantly (p = 0.05, d = 0.77) lower single-leg forward hop LSI values (81.1% ± 19.5%) compared to individuals who injured their preferred jumping limb (94.1% ± 12.6%), but demonstrated no differences in IKDC scores or quadriceps LSI values. Quadriceps LSI and single-leg forward hop LSI explained 73% of the variance in IKDC scores, but quadriceps LSI had the strongest association (r = 0.790). These findings suggests that limb preference influences single forward hop LSI values and should be considered following ACL reconstruction.

Keywords: ACL; limb dominance or preference; limb symmetry index (LSI).

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Statement of Financial Disclosure and Conflict of Interest: We affirm that we have no financial affiliation (including research funding) or involvement with any commercial organization that has a direct financial interest in any matter included in this manuscript.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Quadriceps Strength Testing
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Single Leg Forward Hop
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Grindem H, Snyder-Mackler L, Moksnes H, Engebretsen L, Risberg MA. Simple decision rules can reduce reinjury risk by 84% after ACL reconstruction: The Delaware-Oslo ACL cohort study. Br J Sports Med. 2016;50(13):804–808. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gokeler A, Welling W, Zaffagnini S, Seil R, Padua D. Development of a test battery to enhance safe return to sports after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 2017;25(1):192–199. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kyritsis P, Bahr R, Landreau P, Miladi R, Witvrouw E. Likelihood of ACL graft rupture: Not meeting six clinical discharge criteria before return to sport is associated with a four times greater risk of rupture. Br J Sports Med. 2016;50(15):946–951. - PubMed
    1. Myer GD, Paterno MV, Ford KR, Quatman CE, Hewett TE. Rehabilitation after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: Criteria-based progression through the return-to-sport phase. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2006;36(6):385–402. - PubMed
    1. Dingenen B, Gokeler A. Optimization of the return-to-sport paradigm after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: A critical step back to move forward. Sports Med. 2017;47(8):1487–1500. - PubMed

Publication types