Athletes rehabilitated from an ACL injury exhibited poorer accuracy (p=0.003) and higher inhibitory failure response times (p<0.001) during a go-no-go task compared to healthy controls.
Cross-Sectional (n=60)
Does a history of ACL injury and rehabilitation impair proactive inhibitory control in athletes from interaction sports?
Athletes rehabilitated from an ACL injury demonstrate impaired proactive inhibitory control compared to healthy athletes, suggesting a need to incorporate cognitive retraining during physical rehabilitation.
p-value: p=<0.001
Background/Objectives: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury is common in interaction sports and has severe physical and psychological consequences. Recent research suggests that neurocognitive factors, such as proactive inhibitory control, may influence injury risk. The present work compares the proactive inhibitory performance ability of athletes with no ACL injury and ACL-rehabilitated athletes (ACLR). Methods: This study involved 60 athletes from interaction sports (30 with no history of ACL injury and 30 ACL rehabilitated athletes). During the experimental session, participants performed an executive go–no-go task to assess proactive inhibitory control. Results: The ACLR group exhibited higher adjusted-precision response times (p = 0.011), higher inhibitory failures response times (p < 0.001), poorer accuracy (p = 0.003), and higher commission error rate (p = 0.026) than the group of athletes with no history of ACL injury. Conclusions: Athletes rehabilitated from an ACL injury show inferior performance in proactive inhibitory control, evidenced by lower accuracy and higher reaction times than athletes without a history of injury. Consequently, physiotherapists and exercise professionals should consider cognition during ACL injury rehabilitation and physical retraining before returning to sporting activity.
Jiménez-Martínez et al. (Mon,) conducted a cross-sectional in ACL injury (n=60). History of ACL rehabilitation vs. No history of ACL injury was evaluated on Proactive inhibitory control assessed by an executive go-no-go task (p=<0.001). Athletes rehabilitated from an ACL injury exhibited poorer accuracy (p=0.003) and higher inhibitory failure response times (p<0.001) during a go-no-go task compared to healthy controls.