Sports Med 2007; 37 (8): 703-716 INJURY CLINIC 0112-1642/07/0008-0703/$44.95/0  2007 Adis Data Information BV. All rights reserved. Prognosis of Conservatively Managed Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury A Systematic Review Qassim I. Muaidi, Leslie L. Nicholson, Kathryn M. Refshauge, Robert D. Herbert and Christopher G. Maher School of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Contents Abstract .................................................................................... 703 1. Methods ................................................................................ 704 1.1 Search Strategy ..................................................................... 704 1.2 Eligibility Criteria ..................................................................... 705 1.3 Quality Assessment ................................................................... 705 1.4 Data Extraction and Analysis .......................................................... 705 2. Results .................................................................................. 706 2.1 Selection of Studies .................................................................. 706 2.2 Methodological Quality .............................................................. 706 2.3 Data Extraction ...................................................................... 707 2.4 Outcome After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury ....................................... 707 2.4.1 Self-Reported Measures of Knee Function ........................................ 707 2.4.2 Activity Level .................................................................. 707 2.4.3 Functional Performance ........................................................ 711 2.4.4 Proprioception ................................................................. 712 2.4.5 Prognostic Factors ............................................................. 712 3. Discussion ............................................................................... 712 4. Conclusion .............................................................................. 714 Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture is a common sporting injury, often Abstract managed surgically with patella-tendon or hamstrings-gracilis autograft. Some people who sustain the injury, request information about their prognosis if they choose to forgo surgery and opt for conservative management. Numerous studies provide data on the prognosis of conservatively managed ACL injuries. These studies have not been systematically reviewed. Thus, the aims of this systematic review are to describe the natural history and clinical course of function and proprioception in the conservatively managed ACL-deficient knee, and to identify prognostic factors. We searched MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, SportDiscus, PEDro and the Cochrane Central Register of Clinical Trials without language restrictions from the earliest record available up to July 2006. We also searched the Science Citation Index, and iteratively searched bibliographies for prospective studies of outcomes (>6 months follow-up) of conservatively managed complete