The Aspetar Rectus Femoris Injury Rehabilitation Pathway

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate agreement and clinical acceptability among practitioners working in elite sport regarding a rectus femoris rehabilitation pathway for elite and high-level athletes. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. METHODS: Experienced rehabilitation clinicians from the Aspetar Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital, Doha, Qatar, developed a rectus femoris rehabilitation pathway that comprised eight sections: assessment, milestones, strength, motor control, explosiveness and reactive strength, running, kicking, and weekly schedule. Following internal review, a draft of the pathway was distributed to practitioners who were attending the Aspetar International Rehabilitation Conference 2024 pre-conference workshop (N = 32). Participants rated agreement with key elements using a 5-point Likert scale (75% a priori threshold for high agreement). Survey responses (N = 27) were analysed descriptively. RESULTS: Overall agreement was high (89%) and disagreement was low (2%). The running section had the highest agreement (94%). The strength section had the lowest disagreement (0%). Weekly scheduling was the only section to not reach high agreement (67%), while explosiveness and reactive strength showed the highest disagreement (6%). These findings demonstrate high agreement with key components of a criteria-based, multifactorial rehabilitation pathway, while noting sport-specific and scheduling constraints. CONCLUSION: High agreement was observed among practitioners suggesting alignment with current practices in elite sport.