Effectiveness of Isokinetic Exercises in Preoperative Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tears Rehabilitation

Abstract

The present study compared the effectiveness of adding isokinetic exercise program to conventional rehabilitation protocol in preoperated patients with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear. The subjects were randomly assigned into two groups (n = 10 each). Group A followed conventional rehabilitation protocol. In group B, isokinetic exercise for quadriceps and hamstring were advised. These consisted of 3 set of 10 repetitions at velocity of 60 and 120° sec. with 1 minute rest interval between the sets. The exercise protocol was performed 6 days a week for 4 weeks. Student t-test was used for analysis. Also subjects were evaluated for pain using visual analog scale (VAS). For the assessment of symptoms and functions Cincinnati knee rating system and Lysholm scoring scale were used. The effectiveness of isokinetic exercise was significantly better only with knee extension peak torque and peak work in case of quadriceps (p < 0.05). Hamstring testing showed no significant difference with isokinetic training in intragroup as well as intergroup comparison for any measured parameters. Also no significant differences were found with use of functional scales.