The relationship between grading and instrumented measurements of anterior knee joint laxity.

CONTEXT The relationship between clinical judgments of anterior knee laxity and instrumented measurement of anterior tibial translation is unclear. OBJECTIVE To examine the relationship between certified athletic trainers'grading of anterior knee laxity and instrumented measurements of anterior tibial translation. DESIGN Randomized, blinded, clinical assessment. SETTING Laboratory. PARTICIPANTS Model patients receiving evaluation of anterior knee laxity. INTERVENTION Twelve model patients were evaluated using a MEDmetric KT1000 knee ligament Arthrometer to establish instrumented measurements of anterior translation values at the tibio-femoral joint. Twenty-two certified athletic trainers were provided with operational definitions of potential laxity grades and examined the model patients to make judgments of anterior knee laxity. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Correlation between clinical judgments and instrumented measurements of anterior tibial translation. RESULTS Clinical judgments and instrumented measurements were mutually independent. CONCLUSIONS Anterior tibial translation grading by certified athletic trainers should be interpreted with caution during clinical decision-making.