1. Advanced Neuromuscular Training Differentially Changes Performance on Visuomotor Reaction Tests and Single-leg Hop Tests in Patients with ACL Reconstruction.
- Author
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Chmielewski, Terese, Obermeier, Michael, Meierbachtol, Adam, Jenkins, Asher, Stuart, Michael, Sikka, Robby, and Tompkins, Marc
- Subjects
LEG physiology ,ANTERIOR cruciate ligament surgery ,LEG ,T-test (Statistics) ,DATA analysis ,CLINICAL trials ,TOUCH ,REHABILITATION ,TREATMENT effectiveness ,DESCRIPTIVE statistics ,ONE-leg resting position ,PRE-tests & post-tests ,SPORTS participation ,SPORTS re-entry ,RESEARCH methodology ,ELECTRONIC health records ,STATISTICS ,BODY movement ,REACTION time ,DATA analysis software ,NEURODEVELOPMENTAL treatment - Abstract
Background: Advanced neuromuscular training prepares patients with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) for sport participation. Return-to-sport testing often includes single-leg hop tests, yet combining motor and cognitive tasks (i.e., dual-task) might reveal neurocognitive reliance. Purpose/Hypothesis: This study examined changes in performance on visuomotor reactions tests and single-leg hop tests following advanced neuromuscular training in patients with ACLR. The hypothesis was that performance would improve less on reaction tests than on single-leg hop tests. Study Design: Quasi experimental, Pretest-Posttest Methods: Twenty-five patients with ACLR (11 males) completed 10 sessions of advanced neuromuscular training and pre-and post-training testing. Reaction tests outcomes were from a platform and visual display. The double-leg reaction test involved touching target dots with either leg for 20 seconds; correct touches and errors were recorded. The single-leg reaction test involved hopping on the test leg to 10 target dots; hop time and errors were recorded. Single-leg hop tests included forward, triple, crossover triple, and timed hop; limb symmetry index was recorded. Effect sizes were calculated for corrected touches on the double-leg reaction test, surgical side hop time on the single-leg reaction test, and surgical side hop distance or time on single-leg hop tests. Results: Correct touches on the double-leg reaction test significantly increased from pre- to post-training (20.4 +/- 4.3 vs. 23.9 +/- 2.8, p<0.001). Hop time on the single-leg reaction test significantly decreased from pre- to post-training (Surgical leg 13.2 vs. 12.3 seconds, non-surgical leg 13.0 vs. 12.1 seconds, p=0.003). Mean errors did not significantly change on either reaction test (p> 0.05). Cohens d effect sizes in descending order was single-leg hop tests (d=0.9 to 1.3), double-leg reaction test (d=0.9), and single-leg reaction test (d=0.5). Conclusion: Motor performance improved after advanced neuromuscular training, but the effect size was less on visuomotor reaction tests than single-leg hop tests. The results suggest persistence of neurocognitive reliance after ACLR and a need for more dual-task challenges in training. Level of Evidence: 3 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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