2.2. Study Design
inflammation, swelling
INFLAMMATION
All participants were engaged in a standard rehabilitation program and supervised by two highly skilled practitioners (MSc and PhD in Sport Science with more than 10 years of experience and 200 ACL rehabilitations) until enrolled in the study (During the early stage of rehab (around 12 weeks), care was taken to decrease swelling and inflammation and restore range of motion and muscle activity in the affected muscles. Running was allowed after the respective physician’s clearance, somewhere around 12 weeks post-op. Low-load strength training (open and closed chain), landing skills, and low-load plyometrics were progressively included at around 16 weeks post-surgery (mid-stage rehabilitation). All participants enrolled in five training sessions a week, 80–90 min per session. Finally, between 5 and 6 months post-op, physician clearance for first RTS testing (initial testing) with recommended test protocols (3) was received for all patients and organized at the earliest occasion. After initial testing, each participant was randomized to the experimental or control group and started with the corresponding rehabilitation program. Final testing, identical to the initial one, was conducted five to seven days after the intervention period. All tests were performed by an experienced strength and conditioning coach who was blinded to the present study protocol design. In addition, tests were performed at the same time of day (16:00 p.m.–18:00 p.m.) and under the same environmental conditions for all subjects (22 °C and 60% humidity). All participants were strongly instructed to abstain from any strenuous activity for at least 24 h before testing.