ACL EXAMINATION

May saw the start of an assessment of the Rebound ACL brace. This was a fact-finding exercise about its efficacy as an alternative to ACL surgery.

Text: Niklas Simonsson

P h o t o : P r i v a t e ach year, 8,000–9,000 patients have ACL surgery in Sweden. With this trial assessment of the Rebound ACL brace, Össur intends to review the possibility of healing cruciate ligament injury conservatively, i.e. without surgery.

“As a company, we believe strongly in this, as do the participating doctors. We had a preliminary meeting in Edinburgh last year with doctors from all over the world, and all of them were very interested in this,” says Nils Inngul, sales manager for Össur bracing and supports in the Nordic region.

THE REBOUND ACL concept is based on the Rebound PCL orthosis, intended for the posterior cruciate ligament. What matters is the position of the knee and that dynamic construction can follow the force-extension curve of knee movement. Nils Inngul feels Össur has hit the spot with Rebound ACL.

“We’ve had very good discussions with leading doctors in cruciate ligament research. There is strong healing potential for the anterior cruciate ligament, particularly with the help of a dynamic brace. Very exciting to see,” according to Nils Inngul.

FORTY PATIENTS ARE taking part in the assessment. The treating doctors are firmly in control and are collecting data. There are hopes of presenting a final result around the New Year or Q1 2020.

The method is primarily intended for non-elite sportspeople, who generally need four months’ rehabilitation prior to surgery. Rebound ACL enters the picture in a much earlier phase: treatment should start ten days to three weeks after the injury.

“Afterwards, we monitor healing by means of high-resolution MRI. And, if the results turn out to be as good as we think, we’ll follow this up with a high-quality study,” Nils Inngul concludes.