NCT06858293

Mental Imagery to Improve Quadriceps Strength Post Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: a Feasibility Study

Mental Imagery of Open and Closed Chain Exercises to Improve Quadriceps Strength Post Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: a Feasibility Study

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 20 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Marquette University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to understand if people recovering from anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) surgery will complete mental imagery training and if this will improve their injured leg's strength. The main questions are: * Will people complete a five-day mental imagery exercise schedule while in physical therapy for ACLR? * Does mental imagery exercise help raise leg strength during ACLR recovery? Researchers will also compare if different mental imagery exercises involving leg extension or squats will change leg strength. Participants will be asked to: * Participate in two testing sessions to make measurements of leg function * Complete about 10 minutes of mental imagery exercises once per day for five days at home and write down whether they complete the exercises.

Conditions

• Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Mental Imagery Open Chain	Participants will receive a paper packet with instructions to imagine themselves performing seated maximal leg extension exercises. They will be instructed to imagine the feeling of the exercise for 5 seconds, rest for 5 seconds, and repeat this 50 times with a 2-minute rest period after the 25th repetition. They will also be asked to keep track of the exercises with tallies on a table within the packet and also to record on this table if they did not complete the exercises for that day. The participant is asked to perform the exercises on five consecutive days.
BEHAVIORAL	Mental Imagery Closed Chain	Participants will receive a paper packet with instructions to imagine themselves performing maximal standing squat exercises. They will be instructed to imagine the feeling of the exercise for 5 seconds, rest for 5 seconds, and repeat this 50 times with a 2-minute rest period after the 25th repetition. They will also be asked to keep track of the exercises with tallies on a table within the packet and also to record on this table if they did not complete the exercises for that day. The participant is asked to perform the exercises on five consecutive days.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-02-14
• Primary completion: 2026-01-28
• Completion: 2026-01-28
• First posted: 2025-03-05
• Last updated: 2025-03-10

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States