Comparison of short-foot and toe-curl exercises on movement control during single-leg landing after ACL reconstruction: An exploratory randomized controlled trial.

Abstract

Objectives To compare the effects of short-foot exercise (SFE) and toe-curl exercise (TCE) on movement control during single-leg landing in individuals undergoing anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). Design Multicenter exploratory randomized controlled trial. Setting One hospital and two outpatient orthopedic clinics. Participants Thirty-eight individuals who had undergone ACLR and demonstrated dynamic knee valgus during a single-leg landing task. Main outcome measures Participants were randomized to the SFE or TCE group, performed the allocated exercises daily, and received supervised exercise therapy once weekly for 12 weeks. The primary outcome was hip adduction excursion during single-leg landing. Assessments were conducted at baseline, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks and analyzed using mixed models for repeated measures. Results At 6 weeks, hip adduction excursion was lower in the SFE group than in the TCE group, with a between-group difference of -6.30° (95% confidence interval [CI], -9.19 to -3.41; effect size [ES], -1.41). The between-group difference in change from baseline was -6.98° (95% CI, -9.88 to -4.08; ES, -1.57). At 12 weeks, hip adduction excursion remained lower in the SFE group. Conclusions SFE may facilitate earlier improvement in frontal-plane movement control in patients who have undergone ACLR.