Assessing the progress of rehabilitation in patients with ACL reconstruction using the International Knee Documentation Committee Subjective Knee Form

There are numerous assessment tools designed to provide information on the results of reconstructive surgery of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). They are also used for monitoring progress and facilitating clinical decision-making during the rehabilitation process. A brief summary of some existing tools specifically designed to evaluate knee ligament injuries is presented in this article. Then, one of those outcome measures, the International Knee Documentation Committee Subjective Knee Form (IKDC) was applied to a group of patients (N = 10) who had undergone surgery for ACL reconstruction. The patients attended the same physiotherapy service and followed a unified rehabilitation protocol. The assessment was performed twice: four and six months after surgery. The results showed an improvement in the rehabilitation of most patients tested (verified by a difference equal to or greater than 9 points on the IKDC outcome between measurements 1 and 2). The IKDC probed to be an instrument of quick and easy application. It provided quantitative data about the progress of rehabilitation and could be applied in everyday clinical physiotherapy practice. However, the results suggested considering the IKDC as one component of an evaluation kit to make decisions regarding the progress of the rehabilitation treatment.