Sagittal plane articulation of the contralateral knee of subjects with posterior cruciate ligament deficiency: an observational study

BACKGROUND The aim of the present study was to compare the in vivo articulation of the healthy knee to the contralateral knee of subjects with acute and chronic PCL injuries. METHODS Magnetic resonance was used to generate sagittal images of 10 healthy knees and 10 knees with isolated PCL injuries (5 acute and 5 chronic). The subjects performed a supine leg press against a 150 N load. Images were generated at 15 degree intervals as the knee flexed from 0 to 90 degrees. The tibiofemoral contact (TFC), and the centre of the femoral condyle (as defined by the flexion facet centre (FFC)), were measured from the posterior tibial cortex. RESULTS There was no significant difference in the TFC and FFC between the healthy knee and contralateral knee of subjects with acute and chronic PCL injuries in the medial and lateral compartments of the knee. CONCLUSIONS The findings of this study suggest there is no predisposing articulation abnormality to PCL injury, in the setting of chronic injury the contralateral knee does not modify its articulation profile and the contralateral knee can be used as a valid control when evaluating the articulation of the PCL deficient knee.