Isokinetic assessment of muscle strength following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

Isokinetic muscle strength and readiness to return to sport following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: is there an association? A systematic review and a protocol recommendation

“…Previous studies have shown a ‘very high’ and ‘high’ reproducibility and reliability for isokinetic concentric and eccentric knee extension and flexion; however, in all studies, the eccentric knee extension and flexion reliability and reproducibility is lower than the concentric 24 69 70 71. Although the concentric mode of contraction is more commonly used in clinical and research settings,40 59 66 it does not necessarily mean it is the better mode of contraction. However, due to its frequency of use, there is an abundance of comparable data 3 6 7 9 21 29 37–41 43 44 48–51 53–62 64–67.…”

“…None of the papers were classified as excellent. Seven were classified as good,43 45–47 53 55 66 26 as fair3 5–9 21 23 37–39 41 42 44 48–50 52 54 56 60–67 and 6 as poor 29 40 51 57–59. Thirty studies did not include all important adverse events that could have an effect on the intervention reported (criterion 8),5–7 9 21 23 29 38–40 42–52 54 56 57 59 60 63 64–67 23 studies did not adequately describe the source population and how they were recruited (criterion 11 and 12),3 5 6 8 21 37–40 42 44 48–52 54 57–60 64 65 24 studies did not describe if the source population was recruited in the same time period (criterion 22),3 8 9 23 29 37–42 44 48–52 54–58 63 64 66 and 29 studies did not report sample size calculation (criterion 27) 3 6–8 21 23 29 38–44 49–53 56–61 63–67.…”

“…From 39 studies, 8 (21%) reported objective RTS strength criteria 40 41 43 50 51 54 56 66. The protocol data, outcome measurements and RTS criteria for these studies are presented in table 3.…”

“…Angular velocity influences both the torque and work output, and as such, should be considered when assessing strength and using it as part of the RTS criteria 30 40 56 59. The two most common angular velocities reported were 60°/s and 180°/s in 29 (74%) and 18 (46%) studies, respectively.…”

“…The two most common angular velocities reported were 60°/s and 180°/s in 29 (74%) and 18 (46%) studies, respectively. Abundant data exists for these selected velocities and have been shown to highlight strength deficits 37 40 50 55 57 61 63 66. Torque output decreases as angular velocity increases above 60°/s, and the maximum torque output is shown to be between 0 and 60°/s 72.…”