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 Sep 23;9(1):96.
doi: 10.1186/s40634-022-00538-z.

A novel home-based rehabilitative knee brace system is a viable option for postoperative rehabilitation after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: a report of 15 cases

Chih-Kai Hong  1   2 , Zhao-Wei Liu  3 , Kai-Lan Hsu  1   2 , Fa-Chuan Kuan  1   2 , Jeng-Feng Yang  3   4 , Wei-Ren Su  5   6   7
Affiliations

A novel home-based rehabilitative knee brace system is a viable option for postoperative rehabilitation after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: a report of 15 cases

Chih-Kai Hong et al. J Exp Orthop. .

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the functional outcomes for patients who used a novel home-based rehabilitative system during the postoperative period after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstructions.

Methods: Patients undergoing ACL reconstruction surgeries were prospectively enrolled. A home-based rehabilitation system, which is composed of a knee brace with a motion tracker, a mobile app, and a web portal, was applied. Patients could complete the rehabilitation exercise through the audio guidance and the real-time tracking system which displayed the achieved motions on the user interface of the app. Feedbacks from the patients, including the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) scores, were collected and uploaded to the web portal. Each patient would meet a specialized physical therapist face-to-face once a month. At postoperative 6 months, every patient received a GNRB arthrometer examination and a Cybex isokinetic dynamometer examination.

Results: A total of 15 patients (10 males and 5 females) were enrolled and followed for at least 6 months. The mean time of return to full knee extension was 1.5 months. The mean difference in laxity measured by GNRB arthrometer at 134 N significantly improved at postoperative 6 months (1.8 ± 1.6 mm) compared to that measured preoperatively (3.4 ± 1.9 mm) (p = 0.024). The peak torques of flexor and extensor muscles measured by Cybex isokinetic dynamometer remained unchanged at postoperative 6 months (p = 0.733 and 0.394, respectively). The patients' IKDC score became smaller at postoperative 1 month (p = 0.011) and significantly improved at postoperative 6 months (p = 0.002).

Conclusion: Using a home-based rehabilitative knee brace system after ACL reconstruction is a viable option as patients maintained their knee muscle strengths maintained their muscle strength and achieve similar or better knee range of motion six months postoperatively.

Keywords: Anterior cruciate ligament; Home-based rehabilitation; Knee brace; Telehealth; Telerehabilitation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
KNEESUP Compact home-based rehabilitation system. It is composed of a smart core motion tracker, a mobile App and a web portal
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
A The home page including rehabilitation plan, B the instructional page, and C the rehabilitation execution page on KNEESUP Care App
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) score at preoperative day and postoperative 1, 2, 4 and 6 months. * indicated significantly difference between the preoperative and postoperative scores (p < .05)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Aga C, Risberg MA, Fagerland MW, Johansen S, Trøan I, Heir S, et al. No difference in the KOOS quality of life subscore between anatomic double-bundle and anatomic single-bundle anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction of the knee: a prospective randomized controlled trial with 2 years' follow-up. Am J Sports Med. 2018;46:2341–2354. doi: 10.1177/0363546518782454. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Arida C, Tsikrikas CG, Mastrokalos DS, Panagopoulos A, Vlamis J, Triantafyllopoulos IK. Comparison of Bone-Patella Tendon-Bone and Four-Strand Hamstring Tendon Grafts for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: A Prospective Study. Cureus. 2021;13:e19197. doi: 10.7759/cureus.19197. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bower KJ, Louie J, Landesrocha Y, Seedy P, Gorelik A, Bernhardt J. Clinical feasibility of interactive motion-controlled games for stroke rehabilitation. J Neuroeng Rehabil. 2015;12:63. doi: 10.1186/s12984-015-0057-x. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Brinlee AW, Dickenson SB, Hunter-Giordano A, Snyder-Mackler L. ACL Reconstruction Rehabilitation: Clinical Data, Biologic Healing, and Criterion-Based Milestones to Inform a Return-to-Sport Guideline. Sports Health. 2022;14:770–779. doi: 10.1177/19417381211056873. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cavanaugh JT, Powers M. ACL Rehabilitation Progression: Where Are We Now? Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med. 2017;10:289–296. doi: 10.1007/s12178-017-9426-3. - DOI - PMC - PubMed