Return to sports in female athletes after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: A systematic review and metanalysis

Importance: Return to sport (RTS) is considered an indicator of successful recovery after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). In recent years, there has been major interest in documenting RTS following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Despite women being at increased risk for ACL injuries and a global increase in women's participation in sports, research has not adequately focused on female athletes. Objective: The purpose of this study is to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis evaluating the RTS rate in female athletes after ACLR. We hypothesize that most of the female athletes can RTS. Evidence review: A systematic review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, and Epistemonikos) were searched for articles reporting RTS rates and contextual data in female athletes. The following search terms were used: "anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction" OR "ACL reconstruction" AND "female" OR "women" AND "return to sports" OR "return to play" to retrieve all relevant articles published between 2003 and 2023. A quality assessment of the included studies was conducted. Findings: Fifteen articles were included, reporting on 1456 female athletes participating in pivoting sports. The included studies comprised 9 cohorts, 1 case-control study, 2 case series, 2 descriptive epidemiology studies, and 1 observational study. Eight out of fifteen studies focused solely on elite-level athletes. The participants had a mean age of 23.13 years. Soccer was the most prevalent sport among the participants, accounting for 49.7% of all athletes included. All 15 studies reported an RTS rate, yielding a meta-proportion of 69% [95% CI, 58-80%] for RTS. Nine articles reported the average time to RTS, which was 10.8 months [95% CI, 8.7-12.8 months]. Conclusions: This systematic review demonstrates that a majority of female athletes (69 %) can RTS participation at an average of 10.8 months, however, the available information is insuf ficient, and quantitative data and reasons for not returning to play are lacking. Future studies should establish return -to-play criteria in this population and determine reasons for not returning to play. Level of evidence: III.