NCT03035994

Effect of Altered Mechanical Loading in ACLR

Effect of Altered Mechanical Loading on Lower Extremity Biomechanics and Biochemical Markers in Individuals With an Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 30 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 35 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Altered loading is a causative factor for the development of knee osteoarthritis following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR), and real-time biofeedback may be an effective intervention to manipulate altered mechanical loading about the knee. The purpose of this study is to 1) determine if ACLR participants are able to acquire and retain various loading patterns using real-time biofeedback, 2) determine the effect of altered loading on lower extremity biomechanics during walking gait, and 3) determine the effect of altered loading on biochemical markers of collagen turnover and inflammation during walking gait.

Detailed description

Participants will attend 4 testing sessions. Lower extremity biomechanical outcomes and blood samples will be taken before and following the participant walking at a self-selected speed for 20 minutes. During the 20 minutes of treadmill walking real-time biofeedback will be displayed in an attempt to alter mechanical loading. Participants will complete a control, overloading, under-loading, average loading testing session. Order of loading condition will be randomized.

Conditions

• Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Real-Time Biofeedback	A custom written MatLab script will sample bilateral peak vertical ground reaction forces and display the magnitude in real time on a screen placed in front of the participant. A target line will be placed in the middle of the screen which corresponds to one of the three loading conditions. Participants will be instructed to alter their movement in an attempt to match each limb's vertical ground reaction force to the target line.

Timeline

• Start date: 2016-07-01
• Primary completion: 2017-02-01
• Completion: 2017-04-01
• First posted: 2017-01-30
• Last updated: 2017-04-19