Rehabilitation protocol after simultaneous anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction and high tibial osteotomy: introducing the concept of the individualized approach

Postoperative rehabilitation after simultaneous anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction and opening wedge high tibial osteotomy is a complex concept. Different osteotomy techniques, extremely selected patients, high expectations in returning to previous sport activities, and the different individual physical profile and performances make traditional chronological criteria impractical and unfeasible. This study presents a novel rehabilitation in which functional objective criteria are considered the key factors for standardizing a 4-step protocol. Each step is "individualized", based on the patient's response to the healing processes and to the different training phases, allowing for a safe return to sports competitions. This definitively implies a strict collaboration between patient, surgeon, physician and physiotherapists, as well as thorough and detailed patient education. Due to the high versatility of these new rehabilitation concepts, the application of the "individualized" steps described in this study may be broadened to include different sports medicine knee injuries that may benefit from a specific, detailed and carefully patient-centered rehabilitation project.