Effects of tDCS on Motor Cortex During ACL Recovery

Electromyography (EMGs)

The The Surface EMG amplitudes of the quadriceps and hamstring muscles. The main device, Musclelab, is equipped with a Musclelab force sensor and wireless surface elec-tromyography (EMGs). Electrode placement will follow the Surface ElectroMyoGraphy for the Non-Invasive Assessment of Muscle (SENIAM) protocol from the European Concerted Action in the Biomedical Health and Research Program (BIOMED II). The instructions provided to the patients will be to perform the movement with the max-imum possible contraction, and as rapidly as possible, to achieve the highest peak of force. The patient will carry out 3 familiarization repetitions at a submaximal inten-sity at the beginning of each repetition, and it will begin with the non-surgical ex-tremity, followed by the tests on the surgical extremity. Three effective MVIC attempts will be conducted, each lasting 5 seconds, with a 30-second rest interval between each repetition .

Anterior Cruciate Ligament - Quality of Life Questionnaire (ACL - QOL)

This scale is of a continuous quantitative nature. It serves as a Patient-Reported Outcome Measure to assess the impact on the lives of patients with ACL, both pre- and post-treatment, regardless of whether the treatment is surgical or non-surgical. The questionnaire comprises 32 items, categorized into 5 domains: symptoms and physical prob-lems (5 items), work-related problems (4 items), sports participation/competition (12 items), lifestyle (6 items), and social and emotional aspects (5 items). Each domain is allocated a proportional score based on the number of items it contains and is evaluated using a 100-millimeter visual analog scale (VAS). A higher score indicates a better quali-ty of life for the patient. This scale was validated in Spanish, demonstrating a Cronbach's alpha of 0.81 and 0.94 and an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) that exhibited good consistency, ranging from 0.88 to 0.96

Lysholm Scale

Its purpose is to evaluate knee functionality in various types of ligament injuries, with the objective of monitoring the progression following an intervention and/or assessing knee deterioration in specific pathologies. The scale comprises eight items (limping, use of support for ambulation, instability, pain, locking, swelling, ability to ascend stairs, and ability to squat). It is evaluated on a scale of 0 - 100, with 100-95 being classified as excellent, 94-84 as good, 83-65 as fair, and less than 65 as poor. Furthermore, each item and the overall score are analysed independently. This scale demonstrates a Cronbach's alpha of 0.737 and an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.844.

Functional Jump Test

Functional Jump Test have been commonly used for the evaluation of patients after ACLR, especially to assess the Limb Symmetry Index (LSI). Consist in 8 jump tests: Single Hop for Distance (SHD), 6m Timed Hop (6MTH), Triple Hop for Distance (THD), Triple Crossover Hop for Distance (TCHD), Single Medial Hop for Distance (MHD), Single Lateral Hop for Distance (LHD), Single Limb Countermovement Jump for Height (SLCMJ), and Timed Speedy Hop Test (TSHT)

Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia

Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia is a self-administered questionnaire composed of different questions with a 4-point Likert scale ranging from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree.".