Researchers recently investigated grit in relation to outcomes following ACL surgery. Grit is the disposition to strive for long-term goals despite setbacks and challenges.
ACL surgery recovery is a long journey and the author's postulated that an athlete's grit may predict postoperative outcomes across time.
The author's primary purpose of the study was to:
Evaluate the relationships between baseline (preoperative) grit and postoperative knee outcomes across the year after ACLR among adolescents.
All athletes completed outcomes scores including:
The Short Grit Scale, the Pediatric International Knee Documentation Committee (Pedi-IKDC) Scale, the Lysholm Knee Scoring Scale, the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) pediatric scale for pain interference and mobility, the Hospital for Special Surgery Pediatric Functional Activity Brief Scale (HSS Pedi-FABS), and the Quality of Life in Neurological Disorders (NeuroQoL) Lower Extremity Function Short
The authors included 137 participants (mean age 15.8 ± 2.74 years, 70% female)
What did the authors find?
There were no statistically significant changes in grit over time or differences in grit between age and sex.
* Athletes with higher baseline grit reported superior postoperative physical function and activity level over the course of 1 year after ACLR compared with less gritty athletes.
* Grit may be a useful measure in predicting success in regaining physical function across time after ACLR in adolescent athletes.
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Learn more about ACL Unbroken - a project to help athletes increase their Grit and improve their physical outcomes following ACL surgery:
https://www.theunbrokenathlete.com/joinus
