Sustainable Knee Health

More insight is needed to depict of sensorimotor control deficits after Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury during the rehabilitation phase. This will help to design intervention strategies to fully restore active joint stability.

Situation

The importance of appropriate nerve-muscle interaction for active joint stabilization after an anterior cruciate ligament injury seems undisputed. However, further knowledge is needed about the changes in muscle control during the rehabilitation process and their possible targeted promotion in the therapy process. The project will contribute to the development and testing of precise treatment strategies to restore active joint stability. This is a key factor in preventing re-injury.

Course of action

An injury of the anterior cruciate ligament in the knee is a serious injury in physically active people. Regardless of the therapy chosen, functional deficits persist in a large number of patients at the time of return to full activity - approximately 9-12 months after injury. These functional deficits are due to deficits in "sensorimotor control," (nerve-muscle interaction), which prevent optimal adjustment of active knee joint stability. Therefore, the aims of the project are (1) to investigate the course of these deficits during a 12-month rehabilitation phase. In addition, (2) it will be investigated how these deficits can be treated by targeted therapy programs.

Looking ahead

This will aditionally help to improve rehabilitation and eventually help to reduce secondary injury, which will be evaluated in a long-term implementation study after this project. If you are interested in participating in this study, please contact Nicole Hutmacher: nicole.hutmacher@bfh.ch

Contact

Prof. Dr. Heiner Baur

• Leiter aF&E Physiotherapie
• +41 31 848 45 15
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This project contributes to the following SDGs

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