Relationships between Patient-Reported Outcomes and Predictors of Second ACL Injuries during Unanticpated Jump Landings

Speaker: Fatemeh Aflatounian, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, MSU Bozeman, Neuromuscular Biomechanics Lab

Reactive and external visual–cognitive demands are prevalent in sport and likely contribute to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury scenarios. However, these demands are absent in common return-to-sport assessments. This disconnect leaves a blind spot for determining when an athlete can return to sport with mitigated re-injury risk. Purpose: To characterize relationships between patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and cognitive-task interference (i.e., cognitive demands exacerbating neuromuscular impairments) for biomechanical predictors of second ACL injuries during jump landings that involved rapid unanticipated decision making. The collective results are consistent with higher functioning participants (better PROMs) who also demonstrate desirable biomechanics during single-task conditions being prone to demonstrating the greatest risk-associated DTC in unanticipated scenarios.