Tracking Recovery in Motion: Longitudinal, Multi-Contextual Monitoring of Return-to-Play in Collegiate Basketball.

Authors

Tamar D Kritzer, Kaylee White, Meaghan Maynard, Anil Palanisamy, Ben Bahrami, Dylan Kobsar

Published in

Sensors (Basel, Switzerland). Volume 26. Issue 15. Aug 04, 2026. Epub Aug 04, 2026.

Abstract

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries represent one of the most common and disruptive conditions in sport. Effective return-to-play (RTP) monitoring requires multidimensional approaches capturing physical, psychological, and sport-specific components rather than reliance on isolated benchmarks. This study aimed to longitudinally examine the RTP process of a female varsity basketball athlete following ACL reconstruction, using a framework integrating physical performance (capacity), biomechanical sport-specific (capability), and psychological (confidence) components relative to pre-injury benchmarks. Data collection included countermovement jump testing with force plates, on-court inertial measurement unit (IMU) monitoring of limb-loading, and psychological questionnaires, analyzed relative to the athlete's pre-injury baseline, with post-surgical change interpreted against that individualized reference using minimal detectable change thresholds. Pre-injury monitoring indicated stable movement profiles with minor fluctuations. Following ACL reconstruction, jump height recovered within seven weeks of RTP initiation, but notable inter-limb asymmetries persisted in force plate and IMU measures despite high confidence scores. Symmetry improved over time, yet variability in on-court loading remained after clinical clearance. These findings highlight the value of integrated, multidimensional monitoring to detect residual deficits that may be overlooked by traditional outcome-based assessments. This study demonstrates that integrating athlete-specific biomechanical, psychological, and sport-specific assessments relative to pre-injury baselines can support RTP decision-making to enhance individualized recovery trajectories in female athletes.

PMID:
42590683
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 13 Aug 2026.

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