Gaze Accuracy Differences During Single-Leg Balance Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

Context: Individuals following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) demonstrate altered postural stability and functional movement patterns. It is hypothesized that individuals following ACLR may compensate with sensory adaptations with greater reliance on visual mechanisms during activities. It is unknown if visual compensatory strategies are implemented to maintain postural stability during functional tasks. Objective: To examine visual gaze accuracy during a single-leg balance task in individuals following ACLR compared with healthy, active controls. Design: Case control. Setting: Controlled laboratory. Participants: A total of 20 individuals (10 ACLR and 10 healthy controls) participated in the study. Data Collection and Analysis: Visual gaze patterns were obtained during 20-second single-kg balance trials while participants were instructed to look at presented targets. During the Stationary Target Task, the visual target was presented in a central location for the duration of the trial. The Moving Target Task included a visual target that randomly moved to 1 of 9 target locations for a period of 2 seconds. Targets were stratified into superior, middle, and inferior levels for the Moving Target Task. Results: The Stationary Target Task demonstrated no differences in visual error between groups (P= .89). The Moving Target Task demonstrated a significant interaction between group and target level (F-2,F-36 = 3.76, P= .033). Individuals following ACLR demonstrated greater visual error for the superior targets (ACLR = .70 [.44] m, healthy = .41 [.21] m, Cohen d= 0.83 [0.06 to 1.60]) and inferior targets (ACLR = .68 [.25] m, healthy = .33 [.16] m, Cohen d= 1.67 [0.81 to 2.52]). Conclusion: Individuals following ACLR demonstrate greater visual error during settings of high or low visual stimuli compared with healthy individuals to maintain single-limb postural stability. This population may rely on visual input to compensate for the somatosensory changes following injury.

Automated summary

Individuals following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) exhibit altered postural stability and functional movement patterns. It is hypothesized that they may rely more on visual mechanisms for sensory adaptations. Results showed that ACLR individuals had greater visual errors during high or low visual stimuli conditions compared to healthy controls, indicating a reliance on visual input for postural stability compensation.