The Effects of Grade III Posterolateral Knee Complex Injuries on Anterior Cruciate Ligament Graft Force
- 1 July 1999
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in The American Journal of Sports Medicine
- Vol. 27 (4), 469-475
- https://doi.org/10.1177/03635465990270041101
Abstract
To determine if untreated grade III injuries of the posterolateral structures contribute to increased force on an anterior cruciate ligament graft, we measured the force in the graft in cadaveric knees during joint loading after reconstruction with otherwise intact structures and in the same reconstructed knees after selected cutting of specific posterolateral knee structures. Tests were first performed on the knee with the posterolateral structures intact and then after sequential sectioning of the fibular collateral ligament, popliteofibular ligament, and popliteus tendon. The graft force was significantly higher after fibular collateral ligament transection during varus loading at both 0° and 30° of knee flexion than it was for the same loading of the joint with intact posterolateral structures. In addition, coupled loading of varus and internal rotation moments at 0° and 30° of flexion further increased graft force beyond that with varus force alone. The increase in graft force remained significant with additional sequential cutting of the popliteofibular ligament and popliteus tendon. We believe this study supports the clinical observation that untreated grade III posterolateral structure injuries contribute to anterior cruciate ligament graft failure by allowing higher forces to stress the graft.Keywords
This publication has 30 references indexed in Scilit:
- Arthroscopic Evaluation of the Lateral Compartment of Knees With Grade 3 Posterolateral Knee Complex InjuriesThe American Journal of Sports Medicine, 1997
- Injuries to the Posterolateral Aspect of the KneeThe American Journal of Sports Medicine, 1997
- The Fibular Collateral Ligament-Biceps Femoris BursaThe American Journal of Sports Medicine, 1997
- Treatment or Acute and Chronic Combined Anterior Cruciate Ligament and Posterolateral Knee Ligament InjuriesSports Medicine and Arthroscopy Review, 1997
- Biomechanical Consequences of Replacement of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament with a Patellar Ligament Allograft. Part IIThe Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery, 1996
- Biomechanical Consequences of Replacement of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament with a Patellar Ligament Allograft. Part IThe Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery, 1996
- Why Grafts FailClinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, 1996
- Knee Joint Motion and Ligament Forces Before and After ACL ReconstructionJournal of Biomechanical Engineering, 1989
- Nonoperative treatment of Grade II and III sprains of the lateral ligament compartment of the kneeThe American Journal of Sports Medicine, 1989
- Mechanical properties of primate vascularized vs. nonvascularized patellar tendon grafts; changes over timeJournal of Orthopaedic Research, 1989