Back in the Game: a Smartphone Application to Support Athletes Returning to Sport After Serious Injury (BANG)

Karolinska Institute

Status: Active, not recruiting

Conditions: Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury

Treatments: Behavioral: Back in the Game; Other: Usual rehabilitation care

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03959215

P2019-0174

Details and patient eligibility

About

Returning to sport is one of the primary concerns of athletes following injury. Yet, after serious injury, up to 50% of athletes do not return to competitive sport. Psychological factors play an important role in the athlete's return to sport after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction, and physical and psychological readiness to return to sport often do not coincide. There are currently no easily accessible programs for non-professional athletes to help address the psychological factors that impact on their return to sport after injury.

The aim of this trial is to test whether a smartphone application (app) delivering cognitive-behavioural therapy to address psychological factors including fear, confidence and recovery expectations, is effective for improving the number of people who return sport following ACL reconstruction.

We hypothesise that patients who use the app in addition to receiving usual rehabilitation care after ACL reconstruction will return to sport in greater numbers than patients who receive usual rehabilitation care only.

Enrollment: 169 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 15 to 30 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Unilateral primary anterior cruciate ligament rupture
• Time between injury and anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction not greater than 12 months
• Playing contact pivoting or non-contact pivoting sport at least twice per week prior to anterior cruciate ligament injury
• Intend to return to sport following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction
• Age 15 to 30 years at anterior cruciate ligament injury
• Normal/healthy contralateral knee

Exclusion criteria

• Collateral ligament injury requiring surgery
• Posterior cruciate ligament injury
• Meniscus injury/treatment that requires alteration to usual rehabilitation programme
• Articular cartilage injury/treatment that requires alteration to usual rehabilitation programme
• Previous anterior cruciate ligament injury to either knee
• Injury to either leg that required medical care during the previous 12 months
• Other injury or illness that could affect knee rehabilitation
• Taking medication for mental health problems

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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169 participants in 2 patient groups

Usual care + Back in the Game

Experimental group

Description:

Smartphone-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy to support confidence to return to sport + usual post-operative physiotherapy rehabilitation

Treatment:

Behavioral: Back in the Game

Usual care

Active Comparator group

Description:

Usual post-operative physiotherapy rehabilitation

Treatment:

Other: Usual rehabilitation care