Abnormal Rotational Knee Motion during Running after Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

The effectiveness of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction for restoring normal knee kinematics is largely unknown, particularly during sports movements generating large, rapidly applied forces. HYPOTHESIS: Under dynamic in vivo loading, significant differences in 3-dimensional kinematics exist between anterior cruciate ligament-reconstructed knees and the contralateral, uninjured knees. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective, in vivo laboratory study.

Kinematics of anterior cruciate ligament-reconstructed and contralateral (uninjured) knees were evaluated for 6 subjects during downhill running 4 to 12 months after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, using a 250 frame/s stereoradiographic system. Anatomical reference axes were determined from computed tomography scans. Kinematic differences between the uninjured and reconstructed limbs were evaluated with a repeated-measures analysis of variance.