Functional Testing Following Isolated Meniscus Repair May Help to Identify Patients Who Need Additional Physical Therapy Prior to a Return to Activity

Objectives Functional testing (FT) commonly used to evaluate dynamic knee function and provide objective information about how well a patient has progressed in rehabilitation following an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. The purpose of the study was to determine whether a functional test could be used as an assessment tool for return to activity following isolated meniscus repair. Methods The results of FT completed between 80-150 days post-operation (representing 4-months post-operative) in isolated meniscal repair patients were analyzed for the involved limb, uninvolved limb, and limb symmetry index (LSI). Involved limb performance and LSI on FT were also recorded for a matched cohort of patients who underwent an isolated ACL reconstruction between 151-220 days post-operation (representing 6-months post-operative). The meniscus cohort was compared to the ACL cohort. Results The meniscus cohort (n=26) performed well (LSI of 88% or better) on all functional test exercises, including all hop tests. There were patients in the meniscus cohort who did not achieve 90% LSI on the FT at 4 months. There was no statistically significant difference in any of the tests between the meniscus and ACL (n=39) cohorts. Conclusion A majority of isolated meniscal repair patients perform well on functional testing by 4 months post-operatively and similar to patients undergoing isolated ACL reconstruction at 6 months post-operatively. Not all patients performed well on functional testing at 4 months post-operatively, however, so there may be a role for functional testing in isolated meniscal repair patients and those patients may need further physical therapy prior to a return to sports. Level of evidence III; Retrospective cohort study Level of Evidence IV