Citation

Paget LDA, Kuijer PPFM, Maas M, Kerkhoffs GMMJ. BMJ Case Rep. 2017; 2017(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Academic Center for Evidence-Based Sports Medicine (ACES), Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, BMJ Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1136/bcr-2017-219666

PMID

29079672

Abstract

Acute posterolateral corner injuries of the knee with associated hamstring avulsions and peroneal paralysis are rare in rugby. Regain of motor function following a complete paralysis is documented to be 38%. To our knowledge, only one case describes return to preinjury level of competitive sport taking up to 27 months. A 24-year-old international level rugby player, a medical student, sustained an acute posterolateral knee injury with associated anterior cruciate ligament tear, bicep femoris and semimembranosus avulsions as well as a complete peroneal paralysis. The patient returned to full-time medical rotation work weeks at 5 months. At 10 months, the patient was considered to have returned to preinjury level of activity having managed a 5 km run, participated regularly in non-contact rugby and performed exercises at 140% of his preinjury maximum. This case report describes the successful outcome of a high-frequency high-intensity rehabilitation.

© BMJ Publishing Group Ltd (unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Language: en

Keywords

neurological injury; orthopaedics; physiotherapy (rehabilitation); sports and exercise medicine