RESULTS: 1779 responses were obtained. Consensus was achieved for six measures in operative and non-operative management: the absence of giving way, patient return to sports, quadriceps and hamstrings' strength greater than 90% of the uninvolved limb, the patient having not more than a mild knee joint effusion and using patient-reported outcomes (PRO). No single PRO achieved consensus, but threshold scores between 85 and 90 were established for PROs concerning patient performance.
CONCLUSIONS: The consensus identified six measures important for successful outcome after ACL injury or reconstruction. These represent all levels of the International Classification of Functioning: effusion, giving way, muscle strength (body structure and function), PRO (activity and participation) and return to sport (participation), and should be included to allow for comparison between interventions.

PMID: 23881894 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Read more... http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23881894?dopt=Abstract