Purpose
The purpose of this study was to analyze and compare knee laxity in a group of patients
with a unilateral right anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture and a group of patients
with a unilateral left ACL rupture. Another goal was to analyze and compare the knee
laxity of the right and left knees in a group of persons without any known knee problems.
Type of study
Prospective examination of the same patients preoperatively and 2 years after the
reconstruction with examination of the healthy controls at 2 different occasions.
Methods
Group A was composed of 41 patients with a right-sided chronic ACL rupture, and group
B was composed of 44 patients with a left-sided chronic ACL rupture. All patients
underwent an arthroscopic ACL reconstruction using patellar tendon autograft. Group
C was composed of 35 persons without any known knee problems. One experienced physiotherapist
performed all the KT-1000 measurements and the clinical examinations.
Results
Group A displayed an increased difference in side-to-side laxity between the injured
and non-injured side compared with group B in terms of both anterior and total knee
laxity. This difference was found to be statistically significant preoperatively (P = .01, anterior; P = .001, total) and at follow-up evaluation 2 years after the index surgery (P = .008, anterior; P = .006, total). In group C, a significant increase was seen in absolute anterior
and total laxity in the right knee compared with the left knee when 2 repeated measurements
were performed (P < .0001 and P = .003, anterior; P < .0001 and P = .001, total).
Conclusions
The KT-1000 arthrometer revealed a significant increase in laxity measurements in
right knees compared with left knees. This difference was found both preoperatively
and postoperatively in patients undergoing ACL reconstruction. The same thing was
found in a group of persons without any known knee problems.
Level of evidence
Level II.
Key words
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Article info
Footnotes
The Norra Älvsborg and Bohus County Councils’ Development and Research Fund and the Swedish National Centre for Research in Sports supported the study financially.
Identification
Copyright
© 2004 Arthroscopy Association of North America. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
