The Effect of Quadriceps Strength on Abnormal Movement Patterns After ACL Reconstruction; A Systematic Review

The current literature is replete with evidence of quadriceps femoris strength deficits after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR), but there is a lack of clear understanding about its relationship to movement patterns following ACLR. Elucidating the role of quadriceps strength relative to movement patterns is a vital step for improving the rehabilitation process. As a systematic review, this study aims to identify, assess, and synthesize the evidence regarding the relationship between quadriceps femoris strength and abnormal movement patterns in patients after ACLR. To achieve this, PubMEd and EBSCOhost (SPORTDiscus) databases were searched to identify studies for this review based on the following eligibility criteria: 1) available in English, 2) human subjects following an ACLR, and 3) original research examining the relationship between quadriceps femoris strength and dynamic movement patterns. From these criteria, the reviewed articles were selected, data was extracted, and results were synthesized to draw conclusions. This study found that the majority of the literature on this topic shows that quadriceps strength is related to abnormal movement patterns, with increasing strength leading to increasing in performance or decreases in asymmetry. However, the results yielded variable outcomes for lower dynamic patterns, such as walking gait, and patterns where body positioning has a greater impact on the results, like the horizontal hop and Y-Balance tests. The results of this systematic review increases understanding on the information in present literature on how quadriceps femoris strength deficits after ACLR affect movement patterns following ACLR. Understanding this relationship is vital for clinicians to develop and improve rehabilitation protocols to increase success in patient outcome.https://ecommons.udayton.edu/stander_posters/2160/thumbnail.jp