Patients with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury often suffer knee instability, which can be visualized as a wobbling knee during weight bearing exercises, such as the single leg squat. We propose to use the single-leg-squat-and-hold (SLSH) task with kinematic analysis to objectively evaluate dynamic knee stability in ACL injured patients. The aim of this study is (1) to compare knee kinematic variations capturing knee wobbling during SLSH between ACL subjects and healthy controls; and (2) to detect the changes in knee kinematic variations during SLSH following ACL reconstruction.
Injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) are common in pivoting sports such as soccer, handball, basketball and rugby. The ultimate goal of ACL reconstruction for most athletes is return-to-play. Despite successful surgery and a demanding rehabilitation process, some athletes still failed to return to play, and for those who returned to play, some would suffer a second ACL injury. With surgical reconstruction of the ACL, static knee stability can be restored, but dynamic knee stability may not . Patients with ACL injury often experience symptoms such as knee instability, feelings of "giving way" during activities. Biomechanically, dynamic knee stability is considered as the ability to control the relative tibiofemoral displacements during loading. Regular monitoring of the knee stability before and after ACL reconstruction is necessary for medical personnel to design the most suitable rehabilitation program. In contrast to jumping and hopping tasks, squatting tasks present a similar weight bearing profile during knee flexion, but without the potentially risky landing phase. As poor knee dynamic knee stability can be visualized as a wobbling knee (frequent knee movements). In order to quantitatively and objectively evaluate dynamic knee stability from observing the knee wobbling motion, we propose a single leg squat and hold task(SLSH) with kinematic analysis. Kinematic curve derived from the SLSH involves both the magnitudes and the frequency of the motion fluctuation. This study aims (1) to compare knee kinematic variations capturing knee wobbling during SLSH between ACL-deficient patients who are scheduled for ACLR and healthy controls; and(2)to detect the changes in knee kinematic variations during SLSH following ACLR. We hypothesize that the ACL-deficient patients demonstrate greater knee kinematic variation than the healthy subjects and the knee kinematic variation will reduce after ACLR.
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
ACL reconstruction is a standard surgery for ACL injured patients
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Changes from baseline knee range of flexion-extension at 3 months after ACLR
knee range of flexion-extension will be measured during 10s holding phase of the single leg squat and hold test
Time frame: three months post-operatively
Changes from baseline knee range of varus-valgus at 3 months after ACLR
knee range of virus-valgus will be measured during 10s holding phase of the single leg squat and hold test
Time frame: three months post-operatively
Changes from baseline knee range of internal-external rotation at 3 months after ACLR
knee range of internal-external rotation will be measured during 10s holding phase of the single leg squat and hold test
Time frame: one month pre-operatively and three months post-operatively
Changes from baseline frequency of knee flexion-extension at 3 months after ACLR
the frequency of the relative flexion-extension movements will be quantified by the number of peak appearances during 10s holding phase of the single leg squat and hold test
Time frame: three months post-operatively
Changes from baseline frequency of knee varus-valgus at 3 months after ACLR
the frequency of the relative varus-valgus movements will be quantified by the number of peak appearances during 10s holding phase of the single leg squat and hold test
Time frame: three months post-operatively
Changes from baseline frequency of knee internal-external rotation
he frequency of the relative internal-external movements will be quantified by the number of peak appearances during 10s holding phase of the single leg squat and hold test
Time frame: three months post-operatively
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Changes from baseline International Knee Documentation Committee(IKDC) score at 3 months after ACLR
The IKDC is consisted of 10 questions about symptoms and activity ranging from 0 to 100 where 100 implies perfect knee function
Time frame: three months post-operatively