Factors Affecting the Speed of Recovery After ACL Reconstruction

Completed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury, ACL Injury, ACL - Anterior Cruciate Ligament Rupture

In brief

The purpose of this study is to find out how postoperative pain affects recovery after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) repair. Complete recovery after ACL repair involves healing of tissues at the surgical site, but also recovery of strength of the muscles that control movements at the knee. Some pain is normally experienced after ACL repair; the severity is variable from one individual to another. Pain is usually controlled by intravenous and oral (by mouth) pain medicines. It is also frequently controlled by numbing nerves that supply sensation to the knee joint and surrounding tissues. This procedure is called a nerve block. The investigators want to determine if standard methods of pain control after surgery affect future pain control, and the ability to exercise and recover muscle strength after surgery. The investigators are also interested in determining what other factors, such as age, gender, anxiety, or coping skills might be predictive of pain severity and speed of recovery. As part of the study, the investigators will record subject's ratings of pain severity, use of painkiller medicines, and muscle bulk measured by standardized tests, at various time intervals in the first 6 months after surgery. The investigators will also ask them to complete two questionnaires,one that enquires about subject's responses to pain in the past (catastrophizing test), and one that measures anxiety they might have about surgery or pain on the day of surgery. The investigators will be studying approximately 180 people who are having ACL repair at University of Washington. Subjects may be involved who are having multiple ligaments repaired including the anterior cruciate ligament

Key facts

Study ID: NCT03770806
Run by: University of Washington
People needed: 48
Starts: 2017-03-24
Expected to finish: 2018-06-11
Last updated by the study team: 2018-12-10

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 75. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

Subjects must be age 18-65,
Subjects must be undergoing ACL repair at UWMC
Subjects must be between an anesthesia risk category of 1-3
Subjects must be candidates to have a nerve block if they should choose so.
Subjects must be free of neurologic disease or coagulation defects
Subjects must have no allergies to typical medications used during nerve blocks.
Subjects must be fluent in English, able to read, and understand English readily in person or and/over the phone.

You may not qualify if…

Any patients under 18 or over 75
Patients with a BMI in excess of 40
Non-English speaking patients
Patients with allergies to nerve block medications
Patients with neurological disease or coagulation defects
Patients not undergoing ACL repair at UWMC
Patients who are opioid tolerant

Where it is running

University of Washington Medical Center — Seattle, Washington, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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