Psychological Aspects of Anterior Cruciate Ligament InjuriesClare Arde - PDF document

Psychological Aspects of Anterior Cruciate Ligament InjuriesClare Ardern, Joanna Kvist and Kate E. WebsterLinköping University Post PrintN.B.: When citing this work, cite the original article.Original Publication:Clare Ardern, Joanna Kvist and Kate E. Webster, Psychological Aspects of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries, 2016, Operative techniques in sports medicine, (24), 1, 77http://dx.doi.org/10.1053/j.otsm.2015.09.006 Copyright: WB Saundershttp://www.elsevier.com/ Postprint available at: Linköping University Electronic Presshttp://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva126832 1 Psychological aspects of ACL injuriesClare L. Ardern, PT, PhD; Joanna Kvist, PT, PhD; Kate E. Webster, BSci(Hons)PhDPostdoctoral Research Fellow,School of Allied HealthLa Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia; and Division of Physiotherapy, Linköping University, Linköping, SwedenProfessorDivision of PhysiotherapyLinköping University, Linköping, SwedenAssociate Professor,School ofAllied HealthLa Trobe University, Melbourne, AustraliaCorresponding authorDr. Kate WebsterDepartment of Community and Clinical Allied HealthCollege of Science, Health & EngineeringHealth Sciences 3 buildingLa Trobe UniversityKingsbury DriveBundooraAUSTRALIA 3086k.webster@latrobe.edu.au . +61 3 9479 5796F. +61 3 9479 5737 8 responses and psychological readiness to return to sport improved linearly over time during rehabilitationandpsychological readiness to return to sport at 6 months after surgery predicted returning to the preinjury level sport at 1 yearSelfefficacy has also been found to significantly improve as peopleprogress through postoperative rehabilitationand there are correlations between efficacy and knee symptoms and function (measured with the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score) after 3, 6, and 12 months of rehabilitationHow do psychological factors influence returnin

g to sport?Athletes undergoing ACL reconstruction and their treating clinicians typically expect a successful return to sport to following surgery.7, 45, 46However, while surgery addresses the underlying impairments in knee function, this does not always translate to a successful return to sportone in every three athletes do not return to their preinjury level sport after surgery.Nonmodifiable contextual factors have been found to be associated with returning to the preinjury level sport following ACL reconstructionincluding being young, male, and playing elite level sport prior to injury.sychological responses are potentially modifiable factors that have also been shown to be associated with returning or not returning to the preinjury level sport after surgery. Psychological factors may conceivably be modifiable with specific interventions, and it could be hypothesised that addressing these factors could have an impact on returning to sport.13, 24The extent to which an individualfeels their engagement in a particular behaviour is freely chosen, that they have the necessary competence to successfully complete the behaviour, and perceive a meaningful connection to others as a result of engaging in a behaviour is theorised to directly impact on the likelihood of an individual engaging 7 How do psychological factors influencesport injury rehabilitationRecovery of sufficient physical capacity to safely participate in sport after injury is vital, and well addressed by physical rehabilitation.Systematic reviews have shown that the majority of patients achieve good physical recovery after ACL reconstruction,based on standard outcomes that measure aspects of function important for successful performance of sport.Key milestones in rehabilitation after reconstruction are restoration of knee joint motion and muscle functionindependent function in daily activities including e

mployment, sportspecific training, and reestablishment of an athletic identity.Althoughthe primary concern of most athletes is returning to sport. Psychological responses are prominent during rehabilitation, and make an important contribution to theoverallquality and progression of rehabilitation.28, 39Emotions change over timeduring the rehabilitationperiod34, 37and the emotional responsebeen linked to an individual’s sense of athletic identityWhile negative emotional responses immediately after the injury have been reported,the literature demonstrates a consistent improvement in psychological responses as rehabilitation progresses. However, for some athletesthe response may becomemore negative around the time of clearance to return to sport and when theyare making the transition back to sport.14, 34Morrey et. al.found that athletes’ emotional responses to ACL injury and reconstruction followed a Ushaped progressionthrough rehabilitation, with peaks in the negative responses immediately following injury and at the time of clearance to return to sport (at 6 months postoperative). In contrast to Morrey’s et. al.findings of a Ushaped emotional response, Langford et. al.found athletes’ emotional 6 sustaining an injury because they are no longer underpressure to performThe psychological response may also be linked to athletes’ sense of athletic identity, with athletes who were more involved in their sport conceivably having a stronger emotional response to athletic injury as a result of their greater investment in sports participation.14, 36, 39In a study of professional Australian Rules Fball players, those who had severe injuriesthat potentially threatened their future performance or career reported astronger negative psychological response compared to those who saw their injury as more minor.The nature and duration of the injury were key fa

ctors that impacted on athletes’psychological responseto injury, along with a perception of isolation from the team while undertaking rehabilitation, being sidelined from the team and the game, and the extent of social support from medical staff, team mates and family.In the early postoperative phase after ACL reconstruction,significant reductions in kinesiophobia and pain catastrophising, and significant increases in selfefficacy for rehabilitation have been demonstrated.The increase in selfefficacy was found to be associated with a reduction in knee pain intensity. Iproved selfefficacy and reducedkinesiophobia were also associated with improved knee function.These findings suggest that psychological factors may have an important influence on recovery early after ACL reconstruction; although this is not to discount the likely impact of early physical recovery on psychological responses. Thefindingsalso suggest that psychological interventions, particularly aimed at addressing selfefficacy and kinesiophobia early in the postoperative phase, may have the potential to contribute to improved shortterm rehabilitation outcomes after ACL reconstruction. 5 ethnicity and socioeconomic status, are hypothesised to indirectly influence returning to sport via their impact on physical, psychological and social/contextual factors (Figure 1). The potential for psychological factors to influence returning to sport after injury via a range of different pathways is illustratedin Figure 1, and underscores the importance of understanding and addressing psychological factors as part of the management of ACL injury.Figure 1 about herePsychological response to athletic injuryAn athlete’s response to psychological stress is hypothesised to play a major role in injury occurenceand the perception of stress is likely to be influenced by a range of athleterelated factors including p

ersonality, available coping resources, and history ofstressors (both physical and psychological).29, 30he athlete’s psychological stress response may also continue long after the injury has occurredSubsequently, the response to stress influences the athlete’s cognitive appraisal of their injury.The cognitive appraisal directly affects an athlete’s emotional response and ultimately their behaviour.Therefore, the chain of psychological sequeto injury could conceivably have an impact on rehabilitation and return to sport outcomes. For example, effective coping strategies could translate to an improved prognosis for recovery the athlete is more adherent to rehabilitation, and as a result, able to return to function faster and with fewer debilitating psychological responses.18, 27Heightened negative emotional responses, including shock, frustration, depression, boredom, tension and anger, have been reportedimmediately after athletic injuryand during recovery from injury.34, 35, 37, 38onversely, injury may also be associated with positive emotions, with some injured athletes reporting feeling relievedafter 4 disturbances may affect recoveryand returning to sport,16, 19as well as increase the risk of sustaining a new injury.20, 21Recovery from sports injury is influenced not only by physical factors, but also by psychological factor19, 22This means that to successfully transition back to sport after injury athletes need to be physically as well as psychologically ready; yet thesestates often do not coincide.19, 22here has been increased research attention paid to evaluating the impact of psychological factors on outcomes after athletic injury. Therefore, the aim of the present review was to review and summarise the evidence for associations between psychological factors and returning to sport following ACL reconstruction.Theoretical perspectivesDysfunctio

nal psychological responses to injury are hypothesised to persist due to combinations of and interactions between biological, environmental, and psychosocial factors.Similarly, returning to sport after injury is complex and multifactorial directly and indirectly influenced by a range of physical, contextual and psychological factors (Figure 1).13, 19, 24To account for the myriad factors and complex relationships between these factors, biopsychosocial modelshave been proposed.18, 27In these models, psychological factors are hypothesised to have a central mediating role on physical factors (impairments of body structure including muscle strength, pain, stability, swelling and movement), social/contextual factors (e.g. recovery expectations and quality of life), functional performance (including aspects of motor control such as balance), and ultimately on returning to sport(Figure 1). A strength of the biopsychosocial model is that it specifies pathways through which psychological factors impact on treatmentoutcomes.In addition, the characteristics of an injury, such as the cause, severity, and type; and sociodemographic factors, such as age, sex, 3 An anterior cruciate ligament (rupture is one of the most common sportsrelated injuries to the knee.In contemporary orthopaedics, athletes who wish to return to sport are typically advised to have ACL reconstruction surgery plus postoperative rehabilitationto facilitate a safe return to sport;2, 3and are usually absent from sports participation for between 6 and 12 months after surgery.ruptured ACLwas once considered career ending for athletes.With the introduction of noninvasive surgical techniques and accelerated rehabilitation protocols,knee function outcomes improved, and with this came increased expectations of a successful return to the preinjury level of sports participation. Patients also have high expectations of

ACL reconstruction in terms of recovery of knee function,conceivably driven by continual advances in surgery and rehabilitation, and media coverage.To meet these expectations of function and participation requires considerable commitment to rehabilitation, and being mentally prepared for an extensive and involved recovery period.Until recently, the focus of orthopaedic research in ACL reconstruction has been on evaluating impairmentbased outcomes after surgery. his is despite the fact that a key concern for athletes is returning to participation in sport, and a lack of association between knee impairments and function.10, 11Many athletes with good knee function do not return to their previous level of sports participation after ACL reconstruction,and the rate of return to the preinjury level and competitive sport is disappointingly low.This has led researchers to question whether there are other factors that may impact on returning to sport after surgery. After injury, athletes often report anger, depression, anxiety, a lack of confidence and fear of sustaining a new injury.14, 15There is also evidence that these psychological 2 AbstractImpairmentbased evaluation has, until recently, been the mainstay of orthopaedic research in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. However, participationbased outcomes, in particular returning to sport, have lately garnered increased research attention. This is important because returning to sport is typically a main concern of injured athletes. Recent metaanalyses have demonstrated that the return to sport rate after ACL reconstruction is disappointingly low, and that a range of contextual factors including age, sex, sport participation level and psychological factors may affect the return to sport rate. Moderate to large effect sizes have been demonstrated for greater psychological readiness to return to sport, and lo

wer fear of injury favouring returning to the preinjury level sport after ACL reconstruction. Understanding the relationship between psychological factors and returning to sport is essentialin light of the fact that most athletes recover good physical function after surgery, and many athletes with good knee function do not return to sport. Psychological factors are potentially modifiable with appropriate intervention, yet these factors are not systematically addressed in routinepostoperative rehabilitation.This review summarises the recent evidence for the relationship between psychological factors and ACL injury, including recovery from injury and returning to sport. 18 Glazer DD: Development and preliminary validation of the InjuryPsychological Readiness to Return to Sport (IPRRS) scale. J Athl Train 44:185Podlog L, Eklund RC: Return to sport after serious injury: a retrospective examination of motivation and psychological outcomes. J Sport Rehabil 14:20Walker N, Thatcher J, Lavallee D: A preliminary development of the ReInjury Anxiety Inventory (RIAI). Phys Ther Sport 11:23Kvist J, Österberg A, Gauffin H, et al: Translation and measurement properties of the Swedish version of ACLReturn to Sports after Injury questionnaire. Scand J Med Sci Sports 23:568575, 2013.Bohu Y, Klouche S, Lefevre N, et al: Translation, crosscultural adaptation and validation of the French version of the Anterior Cruciate LigamentReturn to Sport after Injury (ACLRSI) scale. Knee SurgSports Traumatol Arthrosc 23:11921196, 2015.Müller U, Schmidt M, KrügerFranke M, et al: Die ACLReturn to Sport after Injury skala als wichtiger parameter bei der beurteilung rückkehr zum sport level I und II nach rekonstruktion des vorderen kreuzbands (deutsche version). Sport Orthop Traumatol 30:135Thomeé P, Währborg P, Börjesson M, et al: A new instrument for measuring selfefficacy in patients with an

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r Sluis A, van den AkkerScheek I, et al: Psychosocial factors influencing the recovery of athletes with anterior cruciate ligament injury: a systematic reviewScand J Med Sci Sports 23:527Chmielewski TL, Zeppieri Jr G, Lentz TA, et al: Longitudinal changes in psychosocial factors and their association with knee pain and function after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Phys Ther 91:1355Kvist J: Rehabilitation following anterior cruciate ligament injury: current recommendations for sports participation. Sports Med 34:269Thomeé R, Kaplan Y, Kvist J, et al: Muscle strength and hop performance criteria prior to return to sports after ACL reconstruction. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 19:1798Nyland J, Brand E, Fisher B: Update on rehabilitation following ACL reconstruction. Open Access Journal of Sports Medicine 1:151 15 Udry E, Shelbourne KD, Gray T: Psychological readinessfor anterior cruciate ligament surgery: describing and comparing the adolescent and adult experiences. J Athl Train 38:167Kocher MS, Steadman JR, Briggs KK, et al: Relationships between objective assessment of ligament stability and subjective assessment of symptoms and function after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Am J Sports Med 32:629Medeni O, Baltaci G, Ozer H: Is there any correlation between functional and clinical tests in anterior cruciate ligament reconstructed knees after three years? MedicalExpress 1:2226, 2014.Ardern CL, Webster KE, Taylor NF, et al: Return to sport following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery: a systematic review and metaanalysis of the state of play. Br J SportsMed 45:596Ardern CL, Taylor NF, Feller JA, et al: Fiftyfive per cent return to competitive sport following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery: an updated systematic review and metaanalysis including aspects of physical functioning and contextual factors. Br J

Sports Med 48:1543Johnston L, Carroll D: The context of emotional responses to athletic injury: a qualitative analysis. J Sport Rehabil 7:206220, 1999.Schwab Reese LM, Pittsinger R, Yang J: Effectiveness of psychological intervention following sport injury. J Sport Health Sci 1:7179, 2012.Podlog L, Heil J, Schulte S: Psychosocial factors in sports injury rehabilitation and return to play. Phys Med Rehabil Clin N Am 25:915WieseBjornstal DM: Psychology and socioculture affect injury risk, response, and recovery in highintensity athletes: a consensus statement. Scand J Med Sci Sports 20 (Suppl. 2):103WieseBjornstal DM, Smith AM, Schaffer SM, et al: An integrated model of response to sport injury: psychological and sociological dynamics. J Appl Sport Psychol 10:46Ardern CL, Taylor NF, Feller JA, et al: A systematic review of the psychological factors associated with returning to sport followinginjury. Br J Sports Med 47:11201126, 2013.Ivarsson A, Johnson U: Psychological factors as predictors of injuries among senior soccer players. A prospective study. J Sports Sci Med 9:347352, 2010.Ivarsson A, Johnson U, Podlog L: Psychological predictors of injury occurrence: a prospective investigation of professional Swedish soccer players. J Sport Rehabil 22:19Podlog L, Eklund R: The psychosocial aspects of a return to sport following serious injury: a review of the literature from a selfdetermination perspective. Psychol Sport Exerc 8:535McLean S, Clauw D, Abelson J: The development of persistent pain and psychological morbidity after motor vehicle collision: integrating the potential role of stress response systems into a biopsychosocial model. Psychosom Med 67:783Ardern CL: Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction not exactly a oneway ticket back to the preinjury level: a review of contextual factors affecting return to sport after surgery. Sports Health;10.1177/194173811557813

1, 2015.Czuppon S, Racette BA, Klein SE, et al: Variables associated with return to sport following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: a systematic review. Sports Med 48:356 14 ConclusionsRecovery from ACL injury and reconstruction is influenced by a multitude of physical and nonphysical factors. This review has demonstrated that psychological factors influence the likelihood of injury, and the prognosis for recovery and returning to sport following surgeryTherefore, the impact of psychological factors should not be underestimated. The results of recent metaanalyses demonstrateoderate tolarge effects for positivepsychological factors favouring returning to the preinjury level following surgery. Therefore, there is a rationale for the reevaluation of postoperative rehabilitation programs to include interventions that systematically address psychological factors, with the hypothesis that addressing these factors may improve the return to sport after surgery.Figure legendFigure 1. Adapted biopsychosocial model of return to sport after injuryReferencesMajewski M, Susanne H, Klaus S: Epidemiology of athletic knee injuries: a 10year study. Knee 13:184Marx RG, Jones EC, Angel M, et al: Beliefs and attitudes of members of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons regarding the treatment of anterior cruciate ligament injury. Arthroscopy 19:762770, 2003.Renström P: Eight clinical conundrums relating to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in sport: recent evidence and a personal reflection. Br J Sports Med 47:367Myklebust G, Bahr R: Return to play guidelines after anterior cruciate ligament surgery. Br J Sports Med 39:127131, 2005.Fowler P, SnyderMackler L: Commentary. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 31:661, Biggs A, Jenkins WL, Urch SE, et al: Rehabilitation for patients following ACL reconstruction: a knee symmetry model. N Am J Sports Phys Ther 4:212, 2009.Feucht

MJ, Cotic M, Saier T, et al: Patient expectations of primary and revision anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Knee Surg Sports TraumatolArthrosc;10.1007/s00167z, 2014.Matava MJ, Howard DR, Polakof L, et al: Public perception regarding anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. J Bone Joint Surg Am 96:e85(8186), 2014. 13 reconstruction.A recent study of Swedish recreational and competitive athletes found that psychological readiness to return to sport, measured with the ACLRSI, was the psychological factor most strongly related to returning to the preinjury physical activity.Two studieshave also reported ACLRSI cutoff scores that discriminated between athletes who subsequently did and did not return to their preinjurylevel sport after surgery.56, 67ne studyfounda score of 51 pointsat 6 months after ACL reconstruction(sensitivity 74%, specificity 88%) discriminated returners and nonreturnersto sport at 7 monthswhile in the otherstudy, a score of 56 pointsat 4 months after surgerysensitivity 58%, specificity 83%)was discriminativeof returning to sport at 1 yearTherefore, it may be possible that ACLRSI scores could be used to identify athletes who may be at risk of not returning to their preinjury level sport after ACL reconstruction.Preoperative KSES scores were found to predict returning to the preinjury intensity and frequency of physical activity at 1 year following ACL reconstruction.Further, SES scores also predicted muscle function and symptoms at 1 year after surgery.Our research group has also found that selfefficacy (measured with the KSES) was the psychological factor with the strongest association to satisfaction at 2 to 5 years after ACL reconstruction (unpublisheddata). Selfefficacy has been shown to improve with time during rehabilitation; men, those who were physically active at a higher level before ACL injury, and those aged under 30 years rep

orted higher preoperative selfefficacy compared towomen, people who were active at a lower intensity and people aged 30 years and over. 12 Outcome measuresEvaluating aspects of cognitions, emotions and behaviour during sports injury rehabilitationhas been the focus of previous sports injury psychological research, and a wide range of outcomes have been used to evaluate aspects includingping,emotions,mood,locus of controland adherence to rehabilitationThere has been less focus on the return to sport phase, although increasingresearch interest has seen the recent development of scales that specifically focus on measuring psychological factors during the returnto sport. The Injury Psychological Readiness to Return to Sport scale,Return to Sport after Serious Injury Questionnaire,and Injury Anxiety Inventoryall focus on evaluating an athlete’s confidence and concerns with regard to their return to competitionafter athletic injuryTwo scaleswhichspecifically focus on psychological factors and returning to sport after ACL injury and reconstructionhave evidence of validity. The ACLReturn to Sport after Injury (ACLRSI) scalewas developed to evaluate psychological readiness to return to sport after surgery. This 12item scale addresses emotions, risk appraisal and confidence in relation to returningto sportand has been translated from English to SwedishFrenchand Germanlanguages.The Knee SelfEfficacy scaleSES) was developed to prospectively evaluate an individual’s perception of theability to participate in physical activity as before their ACL injury.This 22item scale assesses activities of daily living, sport and recreational activities, physical activities, and perceptions of knee function in the future.Among a range of sportspecific psychological measures, the ACLRSIscore, measured before surgery and at 4 months after surgery,was found tobe the bestpredictor ofre

turning to the preinjury level sport at 1 year after ACL 11 Competitive athletes reported that recovery of physical capacity to manage a return to sport was a key part of building confidence to return,suggesting an interrelationship between physical and psychological readiness to return to sport. This supports the notion that to optimise the likelihood of returning to sport, rehabilitation should systematically address both physical and psychological factors.24, 56Interventions to address psychological factors could conceivably influence an athlete’s confidence. For example, goal setting, education, modelling and rapport building strategies could help to improve selfefficacy of rehabilitation and confidence in the injured knee.19, 38, 55, 57Imagery and relaxationtraining may help to allay fears of reinjury and improve selfconfidence in performance.19, 38, 55On the other hand, it could also be argued that facilitating athletes’ return to high demand activities, such as pivoting sports, by addressing psychological barriers may increase the risk of new ACL injury. o some extent, a degree of anxiety may beprotective if it means that athletes do not recklessly resume sports participation without undue consideration for the health and function of their knee.During thetransition back to sportathletestypically lack the support of a rehabilitation professional, having already completed and been discharged from rehabilitation monthsbeforeTherefore, this period might be considered critical for the likelihood of successfully transitioning back to the previous level of sport. While top athletes may have the resources to access psychological support during recovery nd rehabilitation, this type of supportis not easily accessiblefor amateurathletes. Hence, there need to develop easily accessible programs to address potentially modifiable psychological factors that could

conceivably impact on returning to sport. 10 for low fear of reinjury (measured with the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobiafavouring returning to the preinjury level sport following surgery.Metaanalysis has demonstrated large effects (standardised mean difference 0.9) for psychological readiness to return to sport (measured with the ACLReturn to Sport after Injury scale) favouring returning to the preinjury level sport after surgeryIn a recent qualitative investigation by Podlog et. al.,sychological readiness to return to sport was suggested by athletes to bemultidimensional and comprise three key dimensions that increasetheirperceived likelihood of successful return: confidence in returning to sport, realistic expectations of sporting capabilities, and motivation to regain the preinjury performance standards.Athletes reported that their confidence to return to sport was strongly influenced by their belief in the rehabilitation they completed, their perception that the injured body part was completely healed and no longer susceptible to reinjury, and that performance at the same preinjury level was possible.Giventheprospective associations between psychological factors and returning to sport, it maybe reasonable to hypothesise that addressing psychological factors during rehabilitation couldbe a way to help injured athletes maximise their chances of returning to the preinjury level sport. However, urrent rehabilitation afterACL reconstructionfocuses on physical recovery and helping athletesrecoverthe physical capacity to participate in sportespite this, many do not return to sport. Therefore, a evaluation of current rehabilitation programs may be needed to incorporate interventions that address confidence and psychological readiness to return to sport after surgery. 9 in a behaviour.These autonomy, competence and relatedness constructs, when fulfilled, increase sel

fmotivation to engage in a particular behaviour.When applied to the return to sport context, there is evidence that athletes who feel they have greater personal control over their return to sport (autonomy), have greater confidence in their body (competence), and feel more socially connected to teammates (relatedness) are more likely to return to their previous level of sport.In addition, motivation, confidence, selfefficacy, optimism and lower fear of a new injury are psychological factors that have been associated with the likelihood of returning to the preinjury level following athletic injuryand ACL reconstruction.25, 26, 39Anxiety about the risk of sustaining a new injury has been identified as a prominent emotional response of athletes around the time that they are transitioning from rehabilitation back to full participation in sport after serious injury.14, 48Emotional responses are particularly powerful for athletes who sustain a serious injury,and are a strong influence on an athlete’s decision to return to sport or not.While some athletes use fear as a motivation during the return to sport transition, with the fear dissipating when the injured body part is tested and holds up in competition; for others, the fear of a new injury can hinder their return to sport.23, 52While poor or inadequate rehabilitation after ACL reconstruction may negatively impact returning to sport as athletes may lack the physical capabilities to safely and effectively participate at their optimum level, the most common reason that athletes give for not returning to their previous level of sport after surgery is fear of sustaining a new injury.Adding further weight to the notion of fear of reinjury being a key psychological factorimpacting on returning to sport after ACL reconstruction, a recently published metaanalysis demonstrated a moderately large effect (standardised mean diff