Evaluation of the Evolution of Proprioceptive Reweighting Abilities Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Surgery

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury is the most common knee injury among athletes who play contact sports involving pivoting. ACL reconstruction (ACLR) combined with rehabilitation is the standard treatment for ACL tears in athletes, and rehabilitation is one of the keys to success. The overall return to sport rate is 80%, but the return to pre-injury level of sport is only 65% and the return to the same level of competition is only 55%. The recurrence rate is close to 20%. Although the number of studies on the subject is growing, there is currently no consensus on rehabilitation protocols. During rehabilitation and sports practice, proprioceptive information is essential for adjusting the muscle sensorimotor loop and enabling optimal movement. We have demonstrated that athletes and athletes after ACL reconstruction show variability in the integration of proprioceptive information during a complex balance task. Athletes can thus be classified as plastic (able to vary the source of proprioceptive information depending on conditions) or rigid (unable to do so). Our hypothesis is to show that the proportion of "plastic" patients 9 months post-operative following ACL reconstruction is higher than that found in the same population 3 months post-operative, thus demonstrating the progression of proprioceptive integration abilities after ACL reconstruction surgery.