Conservative Rehabilitation of Partial Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tear - A Case Report

The anterior cruciate ligament is one of the most important ligaments in the knee joint (ACL). The ACL is necessary for appropriate knee joint mobility and mechanics. When the ACL is torn, patients may experience issues with their knee's function, as well as instability and the sensation of 'falling away' while walking. The anterior cruciate ligament acts as a main restraint on tibia-to-femur translation (anterior shear). Depending on the angle of knee flexion, this function is allocated to either anteromedial or posterolateral bundle. When the knee is fully extended, the posterolateral bundle is tense; however, when the knee flexes, the posterolateral bundle loosens and the anteromedial bundle tightens. We report the case of a 32-year-old man who twisted his leg while jogging, resulting in a partial thickness ACL rupture and mild joint effusion along the periarticular surface of the right knee, as revealed by radiological symptoms and MRI.Conservative rehabilitation in a patient aged 32 year shows good results and so the surgery was not performed. Initially 10 weeks protocol was managed in hospital under the guidance of a therapist including strengthening, stretching and conditioning of lower limb muscles, later on as pain reduced and patient achieved functional pain free range 12 week protocol was further set for home program.

CONSERVATIVE REHABILITATION OF PARTIAL ANTERIOR CRUCIATE LIGAMENT TEAR FOR BETTER FUNCTIONAL OUTCOME

To stabilize the knee joint, the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of the important ligaments. For normal movement and mechanics of the knee joint, ACL is important. If the ACL is torn, people notice problems in stability function of knee joint and there the feeling of ‘giving away’ while weight bearing. The function of anterior cruciate ligament is to restrain translation of the tibia on the femur. However, this role is divided by either anteromedial or the posterolateral bundle, depending on the knee flexion angle. The posterolateral bundle is stretched when the knee is close to full extension; as the knee flexes, the posterolateral bundle loosens and the anteromedial bundle becomes tight. In this report, a 32-year-old male who had a history of twisting of the leg while jogging, started by him since 40 days, lead to partial thickness tear of ACL, minimal joint effusion along the periarticular surface of the right knee and was diagnosed by radiological findings and MRI. As patient was not ready for surgery, he decided to opt for physiotherapy management. The aim of this study is to study effects on functional outcomes after physiotherapy rehabilitation of ACL injury without any invasive procedure.

Failure load of the femoral insertion site of the anterior cruciate ligament in a porcine model: comparison of different portions and knee flexion angles

Background This study compared the failure load of the femoral insertion site of the anterior cruciate ligament between different portions and knee flexion angles. Methods In total, 87 fresh-frozen, porcine knees were used in this study. Three knees were used for histological evaluation; the remaining 84 knees were randomly divided into 4 groups: anterior anteromedial bundle, posterior anteromedial bundle, anterior posterolateral bundle, and posterior posterolateral bundle groups (n=21 per group). The anterior cruciate ligament femoral insertion site was divided into these four areas and excised, leaving a 3-mm square attachment in the center of each bundle. Tibia-anterior cruciate ligament-femur complexes were placed in a material testing machine at 30°, 120°, and 150° of knee flexion (n=7), and the failure load for each portion was measured under anterior tibial loading (0.33 mm/s). Results Histological study showed that the anterior cruciate ligament femoral insertion site consisted of direct and indirect insertions. Comparison of the failure load between the knee flexion angles revealed that all the failure loads decreased with knee flexion; significant decreases were observed in the failure load between 30 and 150° knee flexion in the posterior anteromedial bundle and posterior posterolateral bundle groups. Comparison of the failure load according to different portions revealed a significant difference between the anteromedial and posterolateral bundle groups at 150° of knee flexion, but no significant difference among the groups at 30° of flexion. Conclusions Although the failure load of the posterior portion decreased significantly in the knee flexion position, it (mainly consisting of indirect insertion) plays a significant role against anterior tibial load in the knee extension position; this appears to be related to the characteristics of the insertion site. Reflecting the complex structure and function of the ACL, this study showed that the failure load of the femoral insertion site varies with differences in positions and knee flexion angles.

A steep coronal graft bending angle is associated with bone tunnel enlargement of the posterolateral bundle after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

Purpose: The correlation between the graft bending angle (GBA) of the anteromedial bundle and posterolateral bundle after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) and postoperative tunnel enlargement was evaluated. Methods: Two hundred fifty-eight patients (137 males, 121 females; mean age 27.3 years) who had undergone double-bundle ACLR were included. Computed tomographic scans of the operated knee were obtained at 2 weeks and 6 months postoperatively. The area of the tunnel aperture for femoral anteromedial tunnel (FAMT) and femoral posterolateral tunnel (FPLT) was measured; the area at 2 weeks after ACLR was subtracted from the area at 6 months after ACLR and then divided by the area at 2 weeks after ACLR. The femoral tunnel angles were obtained with Cobb angle measurements. The femoral tunnel angle in the coronal plane was measured relative to the tibial plateau (coronal GBA). On the median value, the patients were divided into two groups in each of FAMT and FPLT; those with a coronal GBA of FAMT of ≥27° were classified as group A, while those with a coronal GBA of <27° were classified as group B, those with a coronal GBA of FPLT of ≥23° were classified as group C, while those with a coronal GBA of<23° were classified as group D. Results: Group A included 129 knees, while group B included 129 knees. Groups A and B did not significantly differ regarding FAMT enlargement. Group C included 133 knees, while group D included 125 knees. The percentage of FPLT enlargement in group C was significantly smaller than that in group D ( p = 0.001). Conclusions: A steep coronal GBA of the FPLT after ACLR results in greater FPLT enlargement. The present findings suggest that surgeons should avoid creating a steep GBA of the FPLT in the outside-in technique.