Gait asymmetries have been documented in individuals after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction (ACLR). The relationship between gait asymmetry and associated psychological factors, however, is not yet known. This study aimed to examine the relationship between kinesiophobia (fear of reinjury) and asymmetry of vertical ground reaction force (vGRF) and lower-extremity muscular activity in individuals after ACLR during gait. Twenty-eight males with a history of ACLR participated in the study. Force plate and surface electromyography was used to record peak vGRF and muscular activity. The Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia (TSK-11) was used to measure kinesiophobia. Spearman’s rank correlations analysis was used to examine the relationship between TSK-11 scores and both gait asymmetry variables. There was a significant positive relationship between TSK-11 and asymmetry of the second peak of vGRF (r_s = 0.531, p = 0.002). In addition, there was a significant positive association between asymmetry of rectus femoris activity (r_s = 0.460, p = 0.007) and biceps femoris activity (r_s = 0.429, p = 0.011) in the contact phase. Results revealed a significant relationship between kinesiophobia and asymmetry in muscle activity and vGRF in different phases of the gait cycle. Interventions addressing kinesiophobia early in the rehabilitation after ACLR may support the restoration of gait symmetry, facilitate a more rapid return to sport, and reduce the risk of ACL reinjury.

Big Five Personality Characteristics and Adherence to Clinic-Based Rehabilitation Activities After ACL Surgery: A Prospective Analysis

Background: Identity formation, a primary developmental task of adolescence, may be particularly relevant to another commonly occurring event for young athletes—sport injury. Relationships between a subdimension of self-identity—athletic identity—and sport injury processes and outcomes have been documented in the general athlete population. The purpose of this supplemental narrative review is to explore the potential role of athletic identity in the risk of injury occurrence and responses to and consequences of injury among young athletes. Methods: Studies on athletic identity in relation to sport injury, with a focus on young athletes, were extracted from a recent scoping review and identified through an updated literature search from April 2020 through June 2024. A total of 23 studies were examined. Results: Across the studies reviewed, high levels of athletic identity were associated with a reluctance to report injury-related symptoms, a tendency to endorse attitudes and behaviors reflecting a willingness to play through pain and injury, intensified physical and psychological symptoms after injury, a disposition toward over-adhering to rehabilitation, high levels of postinjury coping skills, and better functional and return-to-sport outcomes after injury among young athletes. Conclusions: Athletic identity may, therefore, be a source of both strength and vulnerability in young athletes in terms of sport injury processes and outcomes.

The purpose of this research was to develop and evaluate a 5-min structured mental warm-up involving aspects of goal setting, imagery, arousal regulation, and positive self-talk. Results of a study that featured a pretest–posttest design with 101 male youth soccer players (Study 1) and a study that featured a repeated-measures experimental design with 29 female intercollegiate soccer players (Study 2) indicated that executing the mental warm-up was associated with significantly greater readiness to perform and to use mental skills to enhance performance. In Study 3, 30 male high school soccer players used the mental warm-up daily over a competitive season and rated it as acceptable (albeit less so than their physical warm-up) at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of the season. The findings suggest that a mental warm-up is both acceptable to athletes and potentially useful in helping them prepare for training and competition.

Psychological interventions have been found effective in helping athletes cope with the challenges associated with knee surgery. In this investigation, an interactive cognitive-behavioural multimedia program was evaluated as a means of delivering psychological interventions to individuals experiencing anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery in a field trial with 69 ACL surgery patients (30 women and 39 men; 24 competitive athletes, 41 recreational athletes, and 4 nonathletes; M_age = 35.01, SD = 11.98 years). Results indicated that compared to participants who received standard care, participants who received the multimedia program reported greater preoperative confidence in ability to cope, lower postoperative pain and kinesiophobia, and greater use and perceived utility of patient education materials. The findings suggest that the multimedia program has promise as an economical and effective means of educating and delivering psychological interventions to people experiencing ACL surgery and rehabilitation.