Study characteristics
| Study | Year | Population | Total no of trials | Total no of participants | Meta-analysis | Age, years | Male sex, %* | RoB tool | Included in data synthesis† |
| Cryotherapy | |||||||||
| Bednarski and Kiwerski25 | 2019 | ACLR | 13 | 789 | No | NR | 70 | Not assessed | No |
| Cabrera26 et al | 2014 | ACLR | 10 | 573 | Yes | Mean range 22–34 | 69 | Cochrane | Yes |
| Raynor27 et al | 2005 | ACLR | 7 | 551 | Yes | Mean approx. 27 | 68 | Not assessed | No |
| Open kinetic chain exercises | |||||||||
| Glass30 et al | 2010 | ACL injury or ACLR | 6 | 278 | No | Range 15–60 | 74 | PEDro | No |
| Jewiss28 et al | 2017 | ACLR | 7 | 229 | Yes | Mean approx. 29 | 81 | TESTEX | Yes |
| Perriman29 et al | 2018 | ACLR | 10 | 485 | Yes | Mean approx. 30 | 76 | PEDro | Yes |
| Neuromuscular electrical stimulation | |||||||||
| Hauger31 et al | 2018 | ACLR | 11 | 425 | Yes | Range 13–55 | 78 | PEDro | Yes |
| Kim32 et al | 2010 | ACLR | 8 | 198 | No | NR | 64 | PEDro | Yes |
| Whole body vibration | |||||||||
| Seixas33 et al | 2020 | ACLR | 10 | 304 | No | Mean approx. 25 | 60 | PEDro, Cochrane | Yes |
| Qiu34 et al | 2021 | ACLR | 8 | 264 | No | Range 18–45 | 56 | PEDro | Yes |
| Psychological interventions | |||||||||
| Coronado35 et al | 2018 | ACLR | 4 | 210 | No | Range 15–53 | 70 | PEDro | Yes |
| Preoperative rehabilitation | |||||||||
| Carter36 et al | 2020 | ACL injury undergoing ACLR | 3 | 122 | No | Range 17–50 | 95 | Cochrane 2.0 | Yes |
| Knee bracing | |||||||||
| Yang37 et al | 2019 | ACLR | 7 | 440 | Yes | Mean range 25–40 | 64 | Cochrane | Yes |
| Supplement use | |||||||||
| Greif38 et al | 2020 | ACLR | 10 | 292 | No | Range 18–50 | 78 | Cochrane | Yes |
| Blood flow restriction training | |||||||||
| Charles39 et al | 2020 | ACLR | 4 | 98 | No | Range 18–52 | 56 | Not assessed | Yes |
| Structured in-person rehabilitation | |||||||||
| Gamble40 et al | 2021 | ACLR | 6 | 353 | No | Mean range 21–34 | 63 | PEDro | Yes |
| Neuromuscular control exercises | |||||||||
| Arumugam41 et al | 2021 | ACLR | 9 | 386 | No | Mean range 23–35 | 70 | Cochrane 2.0 | Yes |
| Multiple rehabilitation interventions‡ | |||||||||
| Gatewood42 et al | 2017 | ACLR | 22§ | 1254§ | No | Mean range 22–45 | NR | PEDro | Yes |
| Kruse44 et al | 2012 | ACLR | 29 | 1540 | No | NR | NR | CONSORT 2010 | No |
| Risberg43 et al | 2004 | ACL injury or ACLR | 33 | NR | No | NR | NR | Narrative | Yes |
| Wright44–46 et al¶ | 2008 | ACLR | 54 | NR | No | NR | NR | Narrative | No |
*Approximate percentage as not all original trials reported proportion of male and female participants.
†Systematic reviews with a high RoB across all four ROBIS domains were excluded from data synthesis.
‡For the reviews including multiple rehabilitation interventions, we extracted data from specific interventions separately to synthesise these with the other reviews evaluating the same interventions.
§Does not include three studies (125 participants) evaluating surface electromyography (EMG) in >30-year-old participants following meniscal surgery.
¶Includes 2× papers (part 1 and part 2 with same methods but different interventions).
ACL, anterior cruciate ligament; ACLR, ACL reconstruction; CONSORT, Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials; NR, not reported; RoB, risk of bias; ROBIS, Risk of Bias In Systematic reviews.