
Sports Medicine
A systematic review of pain management options after outpatient ACL reconstruction
Am J Sports Med. 2016 Sep;44(9):2435-47. doi: 10.1177/0363546515617737. Epub 2015 Dec 18.77 randomized controlled trials were identified for inclusion in this systematic review evaluating modalities for pain management following arthroscopic ACL reconstruction in an outpatient setting. Evidence evaluating regional nerve blocks, intra-articular (IA) injections, intravenous (IV) and intramuscular (IM) injections, multimodal analgesia, oral medications, cryotherapy compression, mobilization strategies, and intraoperative techniques for the management of pain was identified. The results of this systematic review indicate that both regional nerve blocks and intra-articular injections have been evaluated most frequently and both are effective methods of pain management. A number of other treatment modalities demonstrated efficacy (cryotherapy and oral medication) but the comparative efficacy of these interventions could not be determined because of a lack of comparative trials. An additional synthesis of evidence via a network meta-analysis is needed to help identify the most effective method of pain management in this setting.
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