TY - JOUR
T1 - Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction and physiological joint laxity
T2 - Earliest changes in joint stability and stiffness after reconstruction
AU - Matsumoto, Hideo
AU - Toyoda, Takashi
AU - Kawakubo, Makoto
AU - Otani, Toshiro
AU - Suda, Yasunori
AU - Fujikawa, Kyosuke
PY - 1999/1/1
Y1 - 1999/1/1
N2 - Physiological joint laxity is an important element of normal knee joint function, providing smooth joint movement. However, the objective evaluation of post-operative results after knee ligament surgery is usually based primarily on stability and range of motion, and joint laxity has been ignored. In this study, we measured the joint stiffness of 82 knees undergoing anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction with the Leeds- Keio artificial ligament, before the operation, immediately after the operation, and finally when the full range of motion was achieved postoperatively; changes in joint laxity after the ACL reconstruction were investigated. Before the operation, joint laxity was greater than that of the normal side (P < 0.01), but immediately after the operation it diminished compared not only with that observed preoperatively, but also with that of the normal side. When the full range of motion was achieved, joint laxity was lower than that observed immediately after the operation (P < 0.01), but still remained higher than that of the normal side (P < 0.01). In other words, stability was achieved, but joint laxity was diminished through the operation. In this series, a stiffer artificial ligament than the natural ACL was used, and maximum tension was applied during the operation, aiming at better stability, but this may cause diminution of joint laxity.
AB - Physiological joint laxity is an important element of normal knee joint function, providing smooth joint movement. However, the objective evaluation of post-operative results after knee ligament surgery is usually based primarily on stability and range of motion, and joint laxity has been ignored. In this study, we measured the joint stiffness of 82 knees undergoing anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction with the Leeds- Keio artificial ligament, before the operation, immediately after the operation, and finally when the full range of motion was achieved postoperatively; changes in joint laxity after the ACL reconstruction were investigated. Before the operation, joint laxity was greater than that of the normal side (P < 0.01), but immediately after the operation it diminished compared not only with that observed preoperatively, but also with that of the normal side. When the full range of motion was achieved, joint laxity was lower than that observed immediately after the operation (P < 0.01), but still remained higher than that of the normal side (P < 0.01). In other words, stability was achieved, but joint laxity was diminished through the operation. In this series, a stiffer artificial ligament than the natural ACL was used, and maximum tension was applied during the operation, aiming at better stability, but this may cause diminution of joint laxity.
KW - Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)
KW - Laxity ACL reconstruction and joint laxity
KW - Reconstruction
KW - Stability
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U2 - 10.1007/s007760050093
DO - 10.1007/s007760050093
M3 - Article
C2 - 10370160
AN - SCOPUS:0032990880
SN - 0949-2658
VL - 4
SP - 191
EP - 196
JO - Journal of Orthopaedic Science
JF - Journal of Orthopaedic Science
IS - 3
ER -