Clinical studies on rehabilitation after arthroscopic reconstruction of anterior cruciate ligament with double semitendinosus

Objective To study the rehabilitation program and its feasibility in clinic after the surgery of ACL reconstruction with double semitendinosus under arthroscopy.Methods Fifty five patients, who had been treated with arthroscopic reconstruction of ACL, were divided into two groups: 34 cases in rehabilitation group, 21 cases in control group. The rehabilitation program after ACL surgery involved three stages: First stage, the exercises; Second stage, preparation rehabilitation exercises of range of motion (ROM); Third stage, muscle strength exercises. Results All the patients in the rehabilitation group were clinically symptomless with normal ROM of the knee except two patients. The mean time which they got to normal ROM was 8 weeks.In the meanwhile, the control group showed delayed recovery to the normal ROM, the mean time of getting normal ROM was 16 weeks, and 8 patients had 20°loss of flexion. There was significant difference between the rehabilitation group and the control group (P 0.01 ). Conclusion The rehabilitation program plays an important role in keeping a functional knee, and can effectively prevent the complications after ACL reconstruction. Application and popularization of this technique will be helpful to improve the rehabilitation skill after ACL reconstruction in China.