Investigation of the relationship between knee joint awareness kinesiophobia functional status and activity level in individuals undergoing anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

This study aims to investigate the relationship between knee joint awareness, kinesiophobia, functional status, and activity level in individuals who have undergone anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. A total of 30 participants (24 males and 6 females) with a mean age of 28±7 years were included in the study. Knee joint awareness was assessed using the Forgotten Joint Score-12 (FJS-12); kinesiophobia was evaluated with the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia , functional status with the Lysholm Score , activity level with the Tegner Activity Scale , and subjective evaluation with the International Knee Documentation Committee Score. Muscle strength of the hamstring and quadriceps groups was measured using a hand- held dynamometer , while joint range of motion was assessed with a goniometer. The collected data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 22 software. The results demonstrated significant positive correlations between FJS-12 and the Lysholm Score, Tegner Activity Scale and muscle strength (p<0.05). Significant correlations were also found between FJS-12 and goniometric measurements (p<0.05). However, no statistically significant relationship was found between FJS-12 and kinesiophobia (p>0.05). It was observed that delayed initiation of physical therapy following surgery might negatively affect knee joint awareness (p<0.05). Demographic variables such as sex, operated side, and age did not significantly influence knee joint awareness (p>0.05).In conclusion, knee joint awareness in individuals who have undergone ACL reconstruction was found to be significantly associated with functional status and activity level but independent of kinesiophobia. Significant relationships were identified between knee joint awareness, muscle strength, and joint range of motion. Delayed initiation of physical therapy post-surgery may adversely impact joint awareness. These findings highlight the importance of knee joint awareness in clinical evaluations and emphasize the necessity of initiating comprehensive rehabilitation programs at an early stage.