Operant Conditioning After ACL Reconstruction

University of Michigan

Status: Completed

Conditions: Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries

Treatments: Behavioral: Control; Behavioral: Operant Conditioning

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05519345

HUM00166442

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this study is to examine if the changes in corticospinal function that accompany ACL reconstruction can be improved through a form of mental coaching and encouragement, known as operant conditioning.

Full description

It is theorized reduced corticospinal excitability contributes to quadriceps dysfunction after knee injury and joint disease. Current rehabilitation does not directly target the alterations in corticospinal excitability, which may limit recovery. Operant conditioning is an emerging approach capable of increasing corticospinal excitability by directly targeting the corticospinal pathways. However, it remains to be determined whether operant conditioning of the corticospinal pathway may improve corticospinal function after knee trauma. Therefore, this study will evaluate the ability of operant up-conditioning of the corticospinal pathway to improve corticospinal function after ACL reconstruction.

Enrollment: 22 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 14 to 45 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• aged 14-45 years
• suffered an acute, complete ACL rupture
• have undergone ACL reconstructive surgery
• willingness to participate in testing and follow-up as outlined in the protocol

Exclusion criteria

• have suffered a previous ACL injury on the contralateral leg
• have undergone previous major surgery to the contralateral knee
• have a history of recent significant knee injury (other than ACL) or lower-extremity fracture
• have a history of uncontrolled diabetes or hypertension
• be pregnant or plan to become pregnant
• have metal implants in the head
• have electronic devices in their ear or heart (e.g., cochlear implants or cardiac pacemakers)
• have unexplained recurrent headaches
• have a recent history of seizure
• have a history of repeated fainting spells

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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22 participants in 2 patient groups

Operant Conditioning

Experimental group

Description:

Motor evoked responses will be elicited along with operant conditioning training for about 2 weeks

Treatment:

Behavioral: Operant Conditioning

Control

Experimental group

Description:

Motor evoked responses will be elicited without operant conditioning training for about 2 weeks

Treatment:

Behavioral: Control