Knee confidence, fear of movement, and psychological readiness for sport in individuals with knee conditions: A systematic review with meta-analysis

OBJECTIVES: To (1) compare activity-related psychological factors between individuals with and without knee conditions, and (2) assess associations between these factors and objective measures of function in individuals with knee conditions.

DESIGN: A priori registered systematic review with meta-analysis.

LITERATURE SEARCH: MEDLINE-Ovid, Embase-Ovid, Scopus-Elsevier, CINAHL-EBSCO, SPORTDiscus-EBSCO, and Cochrane Library were searched to May 27, 2022.

STUDY SELECTION CRITERIA: We included peer-reviewed primary data studies (observational and experimental) of human participants with and without knee conditions reporting knee confidence, fear of movement/avoidance beliefs, and/or psychological readiness to return to sport (RTS) or reporting correlations between these factors and objective measures of function in knee conditions.

DATA SYNTHESIS: Where possible, data were pooled by knee conditions, otherwise performed narrative syntheses. The Downs and Black checklist assessed the methodological quality of the included studies.

RESULTS: Forty studies (3546 participants with knee conditions; 616 participants without knee conditions) were included. There was very low–certainty evidence of higher fear of movement in individuals with knee osteoarthritis (standardized mean difference [SMD], 0.46; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.41, 0.52), but not in individuals with patellofemoral pain (SMD, 0.66; 95% CI: −7.98, 9.29) when compared with those without knee conditions. There was very low–certainty evidence of no differences in psychological readiness to RTS after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (SMD, −1.14; 95% CI: −2.97, 0.70) compared to no knee condition, and negligible to weak positive correlations between psychological readiness to RTS and objective measures of function.

CONCLUSION: There was very low–certainty evidence of higher fear of movement in individuals with knee osteoarthritis compared to those without, and very low–certainty evidence of no correlations between these factors and objective measures of function following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2024;54(4):234-247. Epub 29 January 2024.