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Is Brace Immobilization Needed Following Surgical Repair Of Proximal Hamstring Tears?

Objectives: Braces are commonly used in Orthopaedic to protect repaired tissue from excessive stress that can compromise the healing process. Some of these braces can become a nuisance, especially the ones commonly used following proximal hamstring repairs. The idea is to limit hip flexion and knee extension to avoid stretching of the hamstrings. However, this immobilization creates discomfort and limitation during the basic daily needs, possibly compromising patient satisfaction. We hypothesis that proximal hamstring repairs can be safely managed, without brace immobilization and allowing partial weight bearing immediately after surgery, and result in excellent outcomes with minimal complications. Methods: We identify 57 patients that underwent surgical repair of proximal hamstring injuries. The repairs were fixed using suture anchors, and the same surgical technique were performed by a single sport medicine fellowship trained Orthopaedic surgeon. During the postoperative period the patient were allowed to bear partial weight with the assistance of crutches for 6 weeks. At the fourth week, light stretches begin with assistance of the physical therapist. Brace immobilization is not utilize at all, instead detail instruction are provide to the patient to avoid simultaneous hip flexion and knee extension. Subjective outcome measures included: the single assessment numeric evaluation (SANE); I-Holt 12 and KJOC hip scores. Clinical data was obtained from the electronic medical records. Results: Mean patient age was 52 years (range 29-69). The injury was chronic (> 6 weeks) in 55% of the patients. Mean length of follow-up was 32 months ( range 14-60). One patient failed repair, requiring revision surgery. The average SANE score were excellent at 97points, and representing a 43 points increase from the preoperative assessment. Similarly, the mean score for the I-Holt 12 and KJOC hip scores were very good with 99 and 83 points, respectively. In 68% of the patient the injury was sport related, and they all return to sport at an average of 7 months. Conclusion: A post-operative protocol that included immediate partial weight bearing and does not utilized immobilization brace can result in excellent subjective outcomes, high rate to return to sport in a timely matter and low failure rates. Based in our findings, brace immobilization following surgical repair of proximal hamstring appear to be excessive and may not provide additional benefit.