Neural Correlates of Self-Reported Knee Function in Individuals After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

BACKGROUND: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture is a common knee injury among athletes and physically active adults. Despite surgical reconstruction and extensive rehabilitation, reinjuries are common and disability levels are high, even years after therapy and return to activity. Prolonged knee dysfunction may result in part from unresolved neuromuscular deficits of the surrounding joint musculature in response to injury. Indeed, "upstream" neurological adaptations occurring after injury may explain these persistent functional deficits. Despite evidence for injury consequences extending beyond the joint to the nervous system, the link between neurophysiological impairments and patient-reported measures of knee function remains unclear. HYPOTHESIS: Patterns of brain activation for knee control are related to measures of patient-reported knee function in individuals after ACL reconstruction (ACL-R). STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 3. METHODS: In this multicenter, cross-sectional study, participants with unilateral ACL-R (n = 25; 10 men, 15 women) underwent task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging testing. Participants performed repeated cycles of open-chain knee flexion/extension. Neural activation patterns during the movement task were quantified using blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signals. Regions of interest were generated using the Juelich Histological Brain Atlas. Pearson product-moment correlations were used to determine the relationship between mean BOLD signal within each brain region and self-reported knee function level, as measured by the International Knee Documentation Committee index. Partial correlations were also calculated after controlling for time from surgery and sex. RESULTS: Patient-reported knee function was positively and moderately correlated with the ipsilateral secondary somatosensory cortex (r = 0.57, P = 0.005) and the ipsilateral supplementary motor area (r = 0.51, P = 0.01). CONCLUSION: Increased ipsilateral secondary sensorimotor cortical activity is related to higher perceived knee function. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Central nervous system mechanisms for knee control are related to subjective levels of knee function after ACL-R. Increased neural activity may reflect central neuroplastic strategies to preserve knee functionality after traumatic injury.