Decision To Return To Sport After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction, Part I: A Qualitative Investigation Of Psychosocial Factors

Context:  Return-to-sport criteria after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury are often based on “satisfactory” functional and patient-reported outcomes. However, an individual's decision to return to sport is likely multifactorial; psychological and physical readiness to return may not be synonymous. Objective:  To determine the psychosocial factors that influence the decision to return to sport in athletes 1 year post–ACL reconstruction (ACLR). Design:  Qualitative study. Setting:  Academic medical center. Patients or Other Participants:  Twelve participants (6 males, 6 females) were purposefully chosen from a large cohort. Participants were a minimum of 1-year postsurgery and had been active in competitive athletics preinjury. Data Collection and Analysis:  Data were collected via semistructured interviews. Qualitative analysis using a descriptive phenomenologic process, horizontalization, was used to derive categories and themes that represented the data. The dynamic-biopsychosocial model was used ...