Greater return to sports after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction combined with anterolateral ligament reconstruction compared with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction alone: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
2025

Better Sports Return After Combined ACL and ALL Reconstruction

Sample size: 2357 publication Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Lumban‐Gaol Imelda, Putramega Dananjaya, Phatama Krisna Yuarno, Utomo Dwikora Novembri, Budhiparama Nicolaas C.

Primary Institution: Nicolaas Institute of Constructive Orthopaedic Research & Education Foundation for Arthroplasty & Sports Medicine at Medistra Hospital Jakarta Indonesia

Hypothesis

Does combining anterolateral ligament reconstruction with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction improve return to sports compared to ACL reconstruction alone?

Conclusion

Patients who underwent ACLR in combination with ALLR had higher rates of return to sports and competition, but their Tegner activity and ACL-RSI scores were similar to those of patients who underwent ACLR alone.

Supporting Evidence

  • ACLR combined with ALLR resulted in a higher rate of return to sports and competition.
  • No significant differences were found in the Tegner score or ACL-RSI score between the two groups.
  • The study followed PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews.

Takeaway

This study found that more people could go back to playing sports after having two surgeries together than just one. But how active they felt afterward was about the same for both groups.

Methodology

A systematic review and meta-analysis comparing outcomes of ACLR with and without ALLR, including literature search, data extraction, and quality assessment.

Potential Biases

The lack of randomization in non-RCTs may introduce bias.

Limitations

The study included a limited number of studies with different designs, which may have influenced the results.

Participant Demographics

Among the 2357 patients, 1133 underwent ACLR combined with ALLR and 1224 underwent ACLR only.

Statistical Information

P-Value

p<0.00001

Confidence Interval

95% CI, 1.44–2.46

Statistical Significance

p<0.00001

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1002/jeo2.70127

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