A principle-driven approach to return to sport assessment following orthopedic surgery: performance vs prediction (30 min)
Clinicians involved in return to sport (RTS) decision making require assessment protocols that provide insight into athlete readiness and yield pertinent information to guide treatment decisions. Even though best practices indicate that a battery of tests be used to guide RTS decisions, there is little agreement as to what tests should be included. Recent systematic reviews highlight the lack of predictive ability of existing protocols and measures of physical impairment are predominant in the literature, to the exclusion of measures that may better reflect patient readiness. Broadening assessment methods to consider psychological outcomes, including the use of the ACL Return to Sport after Injury (ACL-RSI) outcome, and alternative quantification methods for physical tests may improve the clinical utility of the RTS assessment. Attendees will gain insight into recent findings critical of RTS assessment methodologies and following the presentation will be able to: 1) describe the limitations of assessment methodologies and the standards that define successful RTS assessment, 2) identify outcome measures of readiness and how psychological outcomes can improve decision making and 3) explain measures beyond the limb symmetry index that represent an athlete’s level of performance and suitability to RTS.
Bio:
Dan Ogborn PT MSc(PT) PhD is a Research Associate and Physiotherapist at the Pan Am Clinic Foundation in Winnipeg, Manitoba. His research program and clinical practice focuses on return to sport assessment for patients following orthopedic surgery and injury.