Biomechanical Adaptations Following Knee Injury

After anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction (ACLR), almost a quarter of all patients will tear the contralateral ACL or reinjure the ipsilateral side. Clinicians use a variety of functional tests to measure readiness to return to activity, ranging from laxity measures to hop tests, in an effort to minimize risk of secondary injury. Most concerning, is that many of these patients will develop early onset osteoarthritis in the involved knee, regardless of surgical technique or rehabilitation. Changes in gait following ACLR are hypothesized to contribute to development of osteoarthritis. Dr. Slater will discuss the current state of research in measurement of functional outcomes following ACLR and how it can be applied to other patient populations, such as lower limb amputees.

Lindsay Slater, PhD, CSCS, is a Postdoctoral Fellow with Northwestern University and Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, as well as a Sport Science Researcher.

She has co-authored several articles that are currently in press:

• Norte GE, Goetschius JW, Slater LV, Hart JM. Influence of patient demographics and surgical characteristics on return-to-activity pass rates in ACL reconstructed patients prior to physician clearance. Clin J Sports Med (2019) IN PRESS.
• Slater LV, Wasserman E, Hart JM. Trends in recurrent anterior cruciate ligament injuries differ from new anterior cruciate ligament injuries in college and high school sports: 2009-2010 through 2016-2017. Orthop J Sport Med (2019) IN PRESS.
• Norte GE, Solaas H, Saliba SA, Goetschius J, Slater LV, Hart JM. The relationships between kinesiophobia
  and clinical outcomes after ACL reconstruction differ by self-reported physical activity engagement. Phys
  Ther Sport (2019) IN PRESS.
• Bookbinder H, Slater LV, Simpson A, Hertel J, Hart JM. Single-leg jump performance before and after exercise in healthy and ACL reconstructed individuals. Journal of Sport Rehabil (2019) IN PRESS.
• Bodkin SG, Werner BC, Slater LV, Hart JM. Incidence of symptomatic osteoarthritis 6-months to 5 years from anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc (2019) IN PRESS.