Kinematics of ACL and anterolateral ligament. Part I: Combined lesion

Purpose To quantify the influence of ALL lesions on static and dynamic laxity in ACL-deficient knee.
Methods The study was performed in 10 fresh-frozen knees. The joints were analysed in the following conditions: intact, ACL resection and ACL + ALL resection. Testing parameters were defined as: anterior displacement at 30° and 90° of flexion (AP30, AP90) applying a manualmaximum load; internal rotation at 30° and 90° of flexion (INT30, INT90) applying a 5 N m torque and internal rotation and acceleration during manual pivot-shift (PS) test. Kinematics was acquired by a navigation system; a testing rig and a torquemeter were used to control the limb position and the applied torque. Paired Student’s t test was conducted to assess statistical difference, and significance was set at P < 0.05.
Results The ALL resection determined a significant increase in terms of internal rotation (INT30 P = 0.02, INT90 P = 0.03), while AP30 (P n.s) and AP90 (P n.s) were not affected. ALL resection produced a significant increase in terms of acceleration during PS test (P < 0.01), but no significant change in PS internal rotation was observed.