Isokinetic evaluation after two-stage bicruciate reconstruction

OBJECTIVE To assess the functional balance of the knee after bicruciate reconstruction and its correlation with clinical score. METHODS 14 patients (11 men and three women), mean age 29.9±7.65 years, mean BMI 26.2±2.51 kg/m(2) underwent surgical reconstruction of the Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL) and Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) in two stages, with a mean interval of 3 months between procedures. With a mean follow-up period of 27.33 months, the isokinetic knee analysis was performed at 60°/s and 180°/s and the Lysholm and Tegner scores were applied. RESULTS The Lysholm score was 86.8±11.1 points and the Tegner score showed a deficit of 30% compared to pre-injury level. In isokinetic evaluation, the deficit of the operated quadriceps average torque was 17.05% at 60°/s and 12.16% at 180°/s, while the average flexor torque deficit was 3.43% at 60°/s and 5.82% at 180°/s. Although it was observed torque deficit between members, there were no statistical differences regarding the functional balance between hamstrings and quadriceps. CONCLUSION Although the results of isokinetic evaluation has shown a functional balance of the knee (flexor-extensor), which may have contributed to the good subjective Lysholm score in the bicruciate two-stage reconstruction, two-stage reconstruction did not restore the pre-injury functional level. Level of Evidence IV, Case Series.