Abstract
Objective
To use low-cost Nintendo Wii Balance Boards (NWBB) to assess weight-bearing asymmetry
(WBA) in people who have undergone anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR),
and to compare their results with a matched control group.
Design
Quantitative clinical study using a cross-sectional design.
Setting
Orthopedic clinic of a private hospital.
Participants
ACLR participants (n=41; mean age ± SD, 26.0±9.8y; current Cincinnati sports activity
level, 75.3±19.8) performed testing in conjunction with their routine 6- or 12-month
clinical follow-up, and a control group (n=41) was matched for age, height, body mass,
and physical activity level.
Interventions
Participants performed double-limb squats while standing on 2 NWBBs, 1 under each
foot.
Main Outcome Measures
The WBA variables mean mass difference as a percentage of body mass, time favoring
a single limb by >5% body mass, absolute symmetry index, and symmetry index relative
to the operated or matched control limb were derived. Mann-Whitney U tests were performed to assess between-group differences.
Results
Significant (P<.05) increases in asymmetry in the ACLR group were found for all outcome measures except
symmetry index relative to the operated limb.
Conclusions
People who have undergone ACLR are likely to possess WBA during squats, and this can
be assessed using low-cost NWBBs in a clinical setting. Interestingly, the observed
asymmetry was not specific to the surgical limb. Future research is needed to assess
the relationship between WBA early in the rehabilitation process and long-term outcomes.
Keywords
List of abbreviations:
ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), ACLR (anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction), MMD (mean mass difference), SI (symmetry index), WBA (weight-bearing asymmetry), WBB (Nintendo Wii Balance Board)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 17, 2014
Footnotes
Disclosures: none.
Identification
Copyright
© 2014 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
