– The project starts immediately. We have already done our pilot testing and are actively recruiting participants from local sports organization and physiotherapy clinics with the Skåne region, says PI Daniel Benoit, senior lecturer in Experimental Health Sciences and affiliated with the Ageing and Health research group and director of the technologically innovative Movement and Reality Lab (MoRe-lab), at Lund University.
It was not an official LMK-call, the grantor saw the project's societal benefit in impacting the long-term quality of life and ability to work of those affected.
Thousands of injuries every year
There are hundred of thousands of Swedes walking around today who have had an ACL injury. Among youths in Sweden, participation in organized sports has increased, often at the expense of free play. This, combined with sports specialization at an earlier age, has contributed to increased musculoskeletal injuries in adolescents. The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries of the knee is one of the most devastating for young athletes. The incidences have risen to around 8 400 cases per year in Sweden, with young female athletes at the highest risk according to Svenska Korsbandsregistret. Around 80 percent of these individuals will develop knee osteoarthritis, often with signs within the first 10-15 years of injury. A single event like an ACL injury can significantly alter an adolescent's health trajectory.
Prospective studies evaluating the natural development of functional capacity through puberty are lacking. Daniel Benoit wants to change that with the project 'INFORM-ACL: Integrated Functional Outcomes and Risk Modelling after adolescent ACL injury’. He and his fellow researchers want to know how this development is altered and differs between males and females.
– The project will generate new understanding of how adolescents physically and psychologically develop through puberty, and how it is altered following ACL injury. It will also create innovative subject-specific neuromusculoskeletal models and digital twin technologies to better the links between ACL injury and early onset osteoarthritis, Daniel Benoit continues.
The project will result in evidence-based, age- and sex-specific treatment guidelines. By improving prevention, rehabilitation, and risk prediction, the project aims to enhance long-term health outcomes, quality of life, and participation in society. The research has the potential to reduce healthcare costs, support lifelong physical activity, and improve the wellbeing and work capacity of future generations.