The Efficacy of Rehabilitation Exercise on the Non-operative Limb Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

Patients will undergo resistance training of the thigh musculature of the non-injured (contralateral) limb 3 times per week. The exercises will consist of unilateral: knee extensions; knee flexions and; leg-press, all performed on commercially-available resistance training machines. To optimise strength gains, patients will work to the 5 repetition-maximum rule (Kraemer et al. 2002); 3 sets of each exercise will be performed and a 2-minute rest will separate each set. Sessions will take no longer than 15-20 minutes, including rest.

Patients will perform 'placebo' flexibility training of the upper limb, which will involve a time-matched stretching programme targeting the latissimus dorsi, triceps brachii, biceps brachii, trapezius and pectoral muscles of both limbs. Each stretch will be performed twice, held for 20-30 seconds each time and will be followed by a 30-second rest (McCrary et al. 2015)