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Wearables · Sports Medicine & Rehabilitation

MindMove: mindfulness and movement after ACL reconstruction

A mobile intervention that pairs mindfulness meditation with personalized physical-activity goals — driven by real-time wearable data — to reduce injury-related fear and help patients return to activity after ACL reconstruction. Digital Trails is building the custom app functionality behind it.

Overview

Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) is a common surgery among active young adults, yet many patients never return to their pre-injury level of physical activity. Persistent injury-related fear, low self-efficacy, and limited behavioral support during recovery all play a role — and fear of re-injury is strongly linked both to failing to return to sport and to doing less of the activity that recovery requires.

In a proof-of-concept study, the team observed that people with ACLR took roughly 33% fewer daily steps than uninjured controls, and that poorer composite mental health was strongly associated with fewer weekly minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity. MindMove tests whether a multimodal app — combining mobile mindfulness meditation with evidence-based activity promotion — can address the underlying fear while encouraging engagement in physical activity.

What the Digital Trails team is doing

  • Wearable integration — pulling daily step count, heart-rate variability, and sleep quality from the Oura Ring into the app's data infrastructure.
  • Adaptive goal-setting — an algorithm that generates individualized, daily physical-activity goals from each participant's Oura Ring activity data.
  • Mindfulness prompts — using existing EMA and messaging functionality to deliver daily activity goals and prompt users to engage with third-party mindfulness modules (Headspace).
  • Ongoing support — app testing, debugging, and content/training support via the Digital Trails platform throughout the study.

Methodology

The project runs in two phases. Phase 1 is the collaborative, iterative development of app functionality: Oura Ring data capture, intrapersonal activity goal setting, and prompts that direct users to mindfulness content. Phase 2 tests the feasibility of deployment and preliminary adherence among the target population across two research sites, via a pilot non-randomized intervention study. Successful development sets up a future randomized controlled trial comparing app-based mindfulness training, activity promotion, their combination, and a waitlist control over 12 months.

Devices & platforms

Oura Ring Headspace (mindfulness modules) Custom mobile app

Outcomes & current status

Phase 1 app development is underway, with custom functionality being built to capture Oura Ring data, deliver adaptive goals, and surface mindfulness content. The feasibility pilot will generate the preliminary adherence and acceptability data needed to support a larger externally funded efficacy trial.

Related publications

2024

Feasibility of Mobile Application-Delivered Mindfulness Meditation for Individuals After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

Baez S, Genoese F, Reiche E, et al.
International Journal of Athletic Therapy and Training, 29(2):95–100

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