Lateral meniscus repair in a professional ice hockey goaltender: a case report with a 5-year follow-up.

Abstract

Case report of a professional ice hockey goaltender who underwent an arthroscopically assisted lateral meniscus repair. Rehabilitation of isolated meniscal repairs is not well documented in the literature. There is little knowledge about the healing time and the choice of rehabilitation exercises to be applied to a repaired meniscus. The objective of this case report is to describe a criterion-based, supervised, sport-specific rehabilitation protocol for a high-level athlete with a lateral meniscus repair from the first postoperative day until return to competitive sport, including a 5-year follow-up. The criterion-based protocol used with this athlete was based on a sport-specific neuromuscular rehabilitation approach. Data collected included range of motion, strength, neuromuscular control, and magnetic resonance images. This high-level athlete was able to return to sport 103 days after surgery and no reinjury of the lateral meniscus occurred up to 5 years after surgery. The sport-specific, criterion-based, supervised rehabilitation program described in this case report showed a safe return to sport and a good long-term outcome.