Effect of Blood Flow Restriction and Retrowalking on Functional Ability in Individuals with Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction- A Pilot Study

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) is a crucial ligament for the knee joint’s normal motion. Injury to the ACL is more likely to result in knee instability than injury to other knee ligaments. The annual prevalence of ACL injuries is more than 2 million globally of which 200,000 are believed to occur in India. Of these 100,000 are reconstructed. The ACL injury creates deficits in the muscle strength, muscle mass, proprioception and functional ability of the individual. Currently, majority of surgeons advise that individuals who are active and have considerable functional demands on their knees, such as cutting motions, should be offered ligament reconstruction surgery. Following surgery, even after intensive rehabilitation, the muscle quality and symptoms like proprioception and risk of re-injury fail to enhance. Blood flow restriction training, developed by Dr. Yoshika Sato has been gaining ground recently in the rehabilitation following ACL reconstruction. It involves reducing the venous return flow while only partially restricting the arterial inflow. Retrowalking, is another treatment that is being used in the rehabilitation protocol of ACL reconstruction individuals. The well-known benefit of retro walking is reducing knee stress. The role of retro walking is of great significance in knee rehabilitation programs. The exercise program will be followed by the individuals for 4 weeks, thrice a week. assessment will be done at baseline and at 4 weeks. Mean and SD will be calculated for quantitative variables. Data will be represented in graphical form. Two sample t-test will be used to compare between group differences. Paired t-test will be used to compare within group difference. P value of < 0.05 will be considered statistically significant.