Volume 24, Issue 103, May - June, 2020

A case report on Physiotherapy rehabilitation accelerating the recovery of older patient with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

Madhura Darware¹, Waqar M. Naqvi^2♦

¹Ravi Nair Physiotherapy College, Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, Wardha, Maharashtra, India; Email: darwaremadhura@gmail.com, Orcid ID– https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5624-6972
²Professor and Head of Department, Community Health Physiotherapy, Ravi Nair Physiotherapy College, Wardha, Maharashtra, India; Email: waqar.naqvi@dmimsu.edu.in, Orcid ID - https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4484-8225

^♦Corresponding author
Professor and Head of Department, Community Health Physiotherapy, Ravi Nair Physiotherapy College, Wardha, Maharashtra, India; Email: waqar.naqvi@dmimsu.edu.in

ABSTRACT

Case description: The patient was an adult of 58 years who suffered a complete isolated tear of the right anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). He underwent an arthroscopically aided reconstruction of ACL 12 days after the injury with a Semitendinosus-Gracilis autograph. After 3 weeks, the patient visited the physiotherapy clinic and at that time had trouble bending the knee, trouble walking, and was unable to sit with the knee flexed. Rehabilitation started at a rate of one session a day, six days a week. Rehabilitation activities included exercises to improve ROM coordination, and strength exercises, and home workout routine with regular monitoring of training intensity. This case focuses primarily on rehabilitation of older adults. Outcome: The surgery combined with the comprehensive rehabilitation plan allowed the patient to begin work 9 weeks after surgery. The recovery can take longer in older adults, but in this case the recovery is seen more rapidly. Discussion: This case study indicated that in some of the cases of ACL reconstruction, the early return to functional activities after ACL reconstruction is possible. Conclusion: This case study suggests that surgery combined with the comprehensive rehabilitation plan used after reconstruction of ACL, including home exercise plan with continuous monitoring of the strength of the training, allowed the patient to return to work early after surgery.

Keywords: ACL, Knee Rehabilitation, Geriatric rehabilitation, Physiotherapy intervention

Medical Science, 2020, 24(103), 1803-1808

PDF