Does the Curved Nature of the Tibia Influence the Non-Contact ACL Injury?

Author(s):  
Ariful I. Bhuiyan ◽  
Javad Hashemi ◽  
James R. Slauterbeck

The geometry of the tibial plateau and the femoral condyles are emerging as key parameters to be studied as anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury risk factors. In this paper, we study the role of curved profile of the medial compartment of the tibia in a sagittal plane as a critical risk factor for the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries. The curvature of the mid-medial compartment of Tibia in 40 uninjured controls (21 women and 19 men) and 44 anterior cruciate ligament-injured cases (23 women and 21 men) were measured using magnetic resonance images and in-house matlab programming. We hypothesized that the Individuals with a less curved profile in the medial compartment of the tibia are at increased risk of suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury compared to those with larger curved profiles. Based on t-tests, we established that the uninjured controls had larger curvature (p<0.05) compared to the injured cases. Biomechanically speaking a larger curvature of the tibia could prevent excessive sliding movement of femur with respect to the tibia, and thus could reduce the ACL strain. We suggest that future studies are needed to confirm this relationship and to evaluate the potential role of this curved profile of tibia in the risk of ACL injury.

Author(s):  
Ariful I. Bhuiyan ◽  
Javad Hashemi ◽  
Ryan E. Breighner ◽  
James R. Slauterbeck

The geometry of the tibial plateau as well as the femoral condyles are emerging as key parameters to be studied as anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury risk factors. In this paper, we study the role of tibial eminence size as a potentially important characteristic of the tibial plateau in loading and or protecting the ACL from injury. The volume of Tibial eminence in 52 uninjured controls (32 women and 20 men) and 44 anterior cruciate ligament-injured cases (23 women and 21 men) were measured using magnetic resonance images and 3-d image reconstruction using commercial software Analyze 9.0. We hypothesized that the Individuals with a small tibial eminence are at increased risk of suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury compared with those with larger tibial eminences. Based on t-tests, we established that the uninjured controls had larger tibial eminences (p<0.05) compared with the injured cases. Biomechanically speaking a larger tibial eminence could prevent excessive medio-lateral movement of femur with respect to the tibia. A larger eminence could also protect the knee from large magnitude rotational movements. We suggest that future studies are needed to confirm this relationship and to evaluate the potential role of the tibial eminence size in the risk of ACL injury.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 232596711881983 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoë A. Englander ◽  
Hattie C. Cutcliffe ◽  
Gangadhar M. Utturkar ◽  
William E. Garrett ◽  
Charles E. Spritzer ◽  
...  

Background: Knee positions involved in noncontact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury have been studied via analysis of injury videos. Positions of high ACL strain have been identified in vivo. These methods have supported different hypotheses regarding the role of knee abduction in ACL injury. Purpose/Hypothesis: The purpose of this study was to compare knee abduction angles measured by 2 methods: using a 3-dimensional (3D) coordinate system based on anatomic features of the bones versus simulated 2-dimensional (2D) videographic analysis. We hypothesized that knee abduction angles measured in a 2D videographic analysis would differ from those measured from 3D bone anatomic features and that videographic knee abduction angles would depend on flexion angle and on the position of the camera relative to the patient. Study Design: Descriptive laboratory study. Methods: Models of the femur and tibia were created from magnetic resonance images of 8 healthy male participants. The models were positioned to match biplanar fluoroscopic images obtained as participants posed in lunges of varying flexion angles (FLAs). Knee abduction angle was calculated from the positioned models in 2 ways: (1) varus-valgus angle (VVA), defined as the angle between the long axis of the tibia and the femoral transepicondylar axis by use of a 3D anatomic coordinate system; and (2) coronal plane angle (CPA), defined as the angle between the long axis of the tibia and the long axis of the femur projected onto the tibial coronal plane to simulate a 2D videographic analysis. We then simulated how changing the position of the camera relative to the participant would affect knee abduction angles. Results: During flexion, when CPA was calculated from a purely anterior or posterior view of the joint—an ideal scenario for measuring knee abduction from 2D videographic analysis—CPA was significantly different from VVA ( P < .0001). CPA also varied substantially with the position of the camera relative to the participant. Conclusion: How closely CPA (derived from 2D videographic analysis) relates to VVA (derived from a 3D anatomic coordinate system) depends on FLA and camera orientation. Clinical Relevance: This study provides a novel comparison of knee abduction angles measured from 2D videographic analysis and those measured within a 3D anatomic coordinate system. Consideration of these findings is important when interpreting 2D videographic data regarding knee abduction angle in ACL injury.


2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 230949901879952
Author(s):  
Naoki Nakano ◽  
Jonathan Bartlett ◽  
Vikas Khanduja

Restricted hip movement along with femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) has been reported to be an important risk factor in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. We performed a literature review assessing the evidence that FAI, or restricted hip movement, contributes to the likelihood of sustaining an ACL injury to provide an evidence-based and comprehensive update on the relationship between these pathologies. Studies were divided into three categories: clinical studies, radiological studies and cadaveric studies. Clinical studies primarily assessed the limitations to hip movement in patients with ACL injury, and numerous studies of this kind have demonstrated a relationship between restricted movement and ACL injury. Radiological studies have been able to demonstrate a higher number of bony hip abnormalities in patients with ACL injury. However, due to variable results within these studies, it is unclear which kinds of bony abnormality are specifically associated with an increased risk of ACL injury. Cadaveric studies have demonstrated that peak ACL relative strain was inversely related to the range of internal rotation of the femur, thus providing a potential mechanism for this relationship. In conclusion, clinical and radiological studies have established a correlation between restricted hip and ACL injury, but have been unable to demonstrate an increased risk of future ACL injury in individuals with restricted hip movement. Future prospective cohort studies are necessary to confirm this. Additionally, these findings highlight the need for a thorough clinical assessment of the hip when assessing patients with an ACL injury.


Author(s):  
Suleiman Ali Mansi

  The Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) plays an important role in maintaining knee-joint stability. Most ACL injures (approximately 65%) are due to a non-contact mechanism during physical activities, particularly in sports involving a landing from a jump, pivoting on the leg, rapid deceleration and cutting maneuvers. The average injury of ACL rates is still high for both professional and recreational athletes in particular between the group ages of 15 to 25 year old. The purpose of this article was to review and analysis the causes and potential risk factors for the ACL injury. Several anatomic and neuromuscular risk factors are associated with increased risk of suffering ACL injury, such as shoe-surface interaction, quadriceps angle, knee-joint laxity, genu varum of knee, and body composition. These risk factors most likely act in combination to influence the risk of ACL injury. Therefore, these factors should be considered when designing training programs, competitions, and implementing ACL injury prevention programs.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 1602-1609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mengquan Huang ◽  
Yubiao Li ◽  
Naiming Guo ◽  
Chunlai Liao ◽  
Bin Yu

Objectives This study was performed to compare the intercondylar notch angle (INA) and tibial slope in patients with and without anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and determine the risk factors and influence of these anatomic variations on ACL injury. Methods Participants with and without non-contact ACL injuries were included in the patient and control groups, respectively. The INA (formed by the femoral axis and Blumensaat line), lateral tibial slope (LTS), and medial tibial slope (MTS) were measured on magnetic resonance images. Comparisons were performed between the two groups. A binary logistic regression model was used to determine the influence of the variables on ACL injury. Results Fifty-two participants were included in each group. The INA was significantly smaller and the LTS was significantly greater in the patients than in the controls. No difference was found in the MTS between the two groups. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the combination of the INA and LTS was 0.776 (95% confidence interval, 0.688–0.864). Conclusions The INA was smaller and the LTS was greater in patients with than without ACL tears. The INA in combination with the LTS could be used to predict ACL injury.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Simon ◽  
Randy Mascarenhas ◽  
Bryan M. Saltzman ◽  
Meaghan Rollins ◽  
Bernard R. Bach ◽  
...  

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears are a common injury, particularly in the athletic and youth populations. The known association between ACL injury and subsequent osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee merits a more in-depth understanding of the relationship between the ACL-injured knee and osteoarthritis. ACL injury, especially with concomitant meniscal or other ligamentous pathology, predisposes the knee to an increased risk of osteoarthritis. ACL insufficiency results in deterioration of the normal physiologic knee bending culminating in increased anterior tibial translation and increased internal tibial rotation. This leads to increased mean contact stresses in the posterior medial and lateral compartments under anterior and rotational loading. However, surgical reconstruction of the ACL has not been shown to reduce the risk of future OA development back to baseline and has variability based on operative factors of graft choice, timing of surgery, presence of meniscal and chondral abnormalities, and surgical technique. Known strategies to prevent OA development are applicable to patients with ACL deficiency or after ACL reconstruction and include weight management, avoidance of excessive musculoskeletal loading, and strength training. Reconstruction of the ACL does not necessarily prevent osteoarthritis in many of these patients and may depend on several external variables.


2011 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 568-573 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon J. Wall ◽  
David M. Rose ◽  
E. Grant Sutter ◽  
Stephen M. Belkoff ◽  
Barry P. Boden

2017 ◽  
Vol 0 (4) ◽  
pp. 40-48
Author(s):  
Sergey Krasnoperov ◽  
Maksym Golovaha ◽  
Inna Didenko ◽  
Sergey Maslennikov

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 232596712110529
Author(s):  
Blake J. Schultz ◽  
Kevin A. Thomas ◽  
Mark Cinque ◽  
Joshua D. Harris ◽  
William J. Maloney ◽  
...  

Background: Driving to the basket in basketball involves acceleration, deceleration, and lateral movements, which may expose players to increased anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury risk. It is unknown whether players who heavily rely on driving have decreased performance on returning to play after ACL reconstruction (ACLR). Hypothesis: Players with a greater tendency to drive to the basket would be more likely to tear their ACL versus noninjured controls and would experience decreased performance when returning to play after ACLR. Study Design: Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: Season-level performance statistics and ACL injuries were aggregated for National Basketball Association (NBA) seasons between 1980 and 2017 from publicly available sources. Players’ tendency to drive was calculated using 49 common season-level performance metrics. Each ACL-injured player was matched with 2 noninjured control players by age, league experience, and style of play metrics. Points, playing minutes, driving, and 3-point shooting tendencies were compared between players with ACL injuries and matched controls. Independent-samples t test was utilized for comparisons. Results: Of 86 players with a total of 96 ACL tears identified in the NBA, 50 players were included in the final analysis. Players who experienced an ACL tear had a higher career-average drive tendency than controls ( P = .047). Players with career-average drive tendency ≥1 standard deviation above the mean were more likely to tear their ACL than players with drive tendency <1 standard deviation (5.2% vs 2.7%; P = .026). There was no significant difference in total postinjury career points ( P = .164) or career minutes ( P = .237) between cases and controls. There was also no significant change in drive tendency ( P = .152) or 3-point shooting tendency ( P = .508) after return to sport compared with controls. Conclusion: NBA players with increased drive tendency were more likely to tear their ACL. However, players who were able to return after ACLR did not underperform compared with controls and did not alter their style of play compared with the normal changes seen with age. This information can be used to target players with certain playing styles for ACL injury prevention programs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (9) ◽  
pp. 520-527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guri Ranum Ekås ◽  
Clare L Ardern ◽  
Hege Grindem ◽  
Lars Engebretsen

ObjectiveTo investigate the risk of new meniscal tears after treatment for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, in children and adults with and without ACL reconstruction.DesignPrognosis systematic review (PROSPERO registration number CRD42016036788).MethodsWe searched Embase, Ovid Medline, Cochrane, CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, PEDro and Google Scholar from inception to 3rd May 2018. Eligible articles included patients with ACL injury (diagnosis confirmed by MRI and/or diagnostic arthroscopy), reported the number of meniscal tears at the time of ACL injury diagnosis/start of treatment and reported the number of new meniscal tears that subsequently occurred. Articles with fewer than 20 patients at follow-up, and articles limited to ACL revision surgery or multi-ligament knee injuries were excluded. Two independent reviewers screened articles, assessed eligibility, assessed risk of bias and extracted data. We judged the certainty of evidence using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment Development and Evaluation (GRADE) working group methodology.ResultsOf 75 studies included in the systematic review, 54 studies with 9624 patients and 501 new meniscal tears were appropriate for quantitative analysis. Heterogeneity precluded data pooling. The risk of new meniscal tears was 0%–21% when follow-up was <2 years, 0%–29% when follow-up was 2 to 5 years, 5%–52% when follow-up was 5 to 10 years and 4%–31% when follow-up was longer than 10 years. The proportion of studies with high risk of selection, misclassification and detection bias was 84%, 69% and 68%, respectively. Certainty of evidence was very low.ConclusionNew meniscal tears occurred in 0%–52% of patients between 4 months and 20 years (mean 4.9±4.4 years) following treatment for ACL injury. The certainty of evidence was too low to guide surgical treatment decisions. This review cannot conclude that the incidence of new meniscal tears is lower if ACL injury is treated with surgery compared with treatment with rehabilitation only.


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