Arthroscopic lateral ankle ligament reconstruction (ALALR) with hamstring autograft does not affect jumping ability at 6 months post-surgery.

Abstract

Arthroscopic lateral ankle ligament reconstruction with hamstring graft (ALALR) generally yields good clinical outcomes and enables an early return to sports. However, no studies have specifically evaluated persistent functional deficits, particularly regarding jumping ability, following ALALR with hamstring autograft. To evaluate post-operative ankle stability via jumping ability in patients six months after ALALR with hamstring autograft compared to healthy patients. Retrospective comparative study; METHODS: Forty-nine patients who underwent ALALR with hamstring graft and forty-nine healthy controls performed bipodal drop jump (DJ), single hop (SNH), side hop (SDH), and single-leg vertical jump (SVJ) tests. Measurements included jump height (m), jump distance (m), lateral jump time (s), and reactive strength index for bipodal drop jump (DJ-RSI). These metrics were compared between groups. Additionally, single hop, side hop, and SVJ results were compared between healthy participants and both the injured and contralateral legs of ALALR patients. At an average of 5.8 ± 0.9 months postoperatively, ALALR patients showed no significant differences in DJ-RSI, Single hop, Side Hop tests or SVJ compared to the control group (p > 0.05). Vertical, lateral, and anteroposterior jumping performances were similar for both the injured and contralateral legs (p > 0.05). No statistically significant difference in jumping ability was detected between patients six months after ALALR with hamstring autograft and healthy controls. As a non-significant result does not establish equivalence, these findings should be interpreted as descriptive and suggest that jumping ability is not markedly impaired, which may support return to sport after the ALALR procedure. III.