Mindfulness and exposure therapy may ease fear after ACL surgery
NCT ID NCT05949177
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether combining graded exposure therapy with mindfulness meditation (via the Headspace app) can reduce injury-related fear and improve reaction time in people who had ACL reconstruction. Fifty participants aged 14-35, who are 6 months to 10 years post-surgery and have elevated fear, will be randomly assigned to the program or a waitlist. The goal is to help them feel less anxious about re-injury and move more confidently.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only — not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- graded exposure therapy and mindfulness meditation via the Headspace app
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a simple, non-drug way to help people overcome fear of re-injury after ACL surgery and return to sports more confidently.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage trial with only 50 people, and it compares the program to a waitlist (no active control). The results may not apply to everyone, and the benefits might be modest.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Woollen Gymnasium, 300 South Road
RECRUITINGChapel Hill, North Carolina, 27514, United States
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