Female athletes consistently report lower activity levels and return-to-sport outcomes after ACL reconstruction compared to males despite similar rates of graft failure, according to a Cleveland Clinic-led study.
The systematic review, which has been accepted for publication in the American Journal of Sports Medicine, analyzed 26 studies from the Multicenter Orthopedic Outcomes Network, a prospective cohort of more than 3,000 ACL procedures with 80% follow-up at two, six and 10 years, according to a Jan. 8 news release from the health system.
Researchers found female sex was strongly associated with lower Marx activity scores at every follow-up point. Other measures also suggested females recover more slowly and adjust return-to-sport expectations postoperatively.
The review was led by Martina Hale, a fifth-year student at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, alongside orthopedic surgeons Michael Scarcella, MD, and Kurt Spindler, MD.
The group has been selected to present its findings as an Instructional Course Lecture at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine’s upcoming annual meeting in Seattle.
