Analytical review of athletes returning to active judo after reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament
Introduction - the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and the medial collateral ligament are the most commonly injured knee structures in judoka. ACL ruptures are serious injuries in terms of recovery time, decreased performance and athletic performance. The aim of the study was to analyze the scientific literature data on the subject of studies devoted to the return of athletes to sports after primary, revision, or contralateral reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament. Research methodology and organization - we searched for literary sources in the databases: eLibrary, PubMed, MEDLINE, Google Scholar. The selection criteria were references to the time of return, the number of professional athletes who returned to competitive activity, as well as the level of their working capacity and efficiency after the reconstruction of the ACL. The results of the study and their discussion - analysis of the literature data showed that a large percentage of the operated patients (41-95%) returned to their sports level before the injury. After revision or contralateral ACL surgery, about half of athletes returned to their athletic level before injury. Conclusions - Athletes and coaches need to take into account possible problems when returning to training and competitive activities.