Functional Evaluation of the Knee in Athletes and Sportsmen Undergoing Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Surgery

The knee is a joint made up of bones, muscles, ligaments and cartilage. The anterior cruciate ligament is a fundamental part for the proper functioning of the knee, being responsible for the stability of the joint, also being the main affected in ligament injuries of the knee. Most of these ligament injuries need to be treated surgically and after surgery, physiotherapeutic treatment is essential for the rehabilitation of the patient, aiming at a better return to their daily or sports activities. Several ways are found to assess whether an individual is fit or not to return to sport after an anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery. Validated questionnaires are highly reliable and effective, proving to be very useful as a complementary way to assess the individual's discharge to return to sport. This study aimed to verify the evaluation of knee function in athletes and sportsmen undergoing reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament. The research is characterized as a descriptive, cross-sectional study with a quantitative and qualitative approach being applied through questionnaires in online format, prepared in Google Docs®. The study included a questionnaire with information on the participant's profile, and two knee assessment questionnaires: the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) Questionnaire for assessing symptoms, function and the degree of sports activity and the Previous Cruciate Ligament - Return questionnaire to Sport After Injury Scale (ACL-RSI) to assess the psychological impact of returning to sport after ACL reconstruction. The sample, composed of 23 volunteer participants, including 8 athletes and 15 sportsmen, obtained as results an average of 85% points in the IKDC questionnaire and 61% points in the ACL-RSI Brazil questionnaire for athletes and the results of 74% points in the IKDC questionnaire and 56% points in the ACL-RSI Brazil questionnaire for sportsmen. The psychological issue proved to be a greater difficulty for patients to return to sports, when compared to the functionality of a knee after reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament, which in turn, proved to be highly effective both in its surgery and in its post-operative and rehabilitation.