Return to High School– and College-Level Football After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: A Multicenter Orthopaedic Outcomes Network (MOON) Cohort Study

Background:There is a relative paucity of data regarding the effect of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction on the ability of American high school and collegiate football players to return to play at the same level of competition as before their injury or to progress to play at the next level of competition.Purpose:(1) To identify the percentage of high school and collegiate American football players who successfully returned to play at their previous level of competition, (2) to investigate self-reported performance for those players able to return to play or reason(s) for not returning to play, and (3) to elucidate risk factors responsible for players not being able to return to play or not returning to the same level of performance.Study Design:Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.Methods:This study was a retrospective analysis of prospective patients taken from the Multicenter Orthopaedic Outcomes Network (MOON) cohort who identified football as their primary or secondary sport. Identified pa...