The posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) is the largest and strongest ligament in the human knee, and the primary posteriorstabilizer. Recent anatomy and biomechanical studies have provided an improved understanding of PCL function. PCLinjuries are typically combined with other ligamentous, meniscal and chondral injuries. Stress radiography has becomean important and validated objective measure in...

We examined the relationship between anterior knee laxity (AKL), evaluated while the knee was nonweight bearing, and anterior translation of the tibia relative to the femur (ATT), evaluated when the knee transitioned from nonweight-bearing to weight-bearing conditions in response to an applied compressive load at the foot. Twenty subjects with normal knees (10 M, 10 F; 25.2 ± 4.1 years, 169.8 ±...

In vitro pre-clinical testing of total knee replacement (TKR) devices is a necessary step in the evaluation of new implant designs. Whole joint knee simulators, like the Kansas knee simulator (KKS), provide a controlled and repeatable loading environment for comparative evaluation of component designs or surgical alignment under dynamic conditions. Experimental testing, however, is time and cos...

Excessive knee joint laxity is often used as an indicator of joint disease or injury such as rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Although the ACL has been shown to contribute to rotational stability of the knee, clinical assessment devices are currently limited to anterior-posterior drawer measurements. The objective of this work was to design a methodology whereby in vivo knee joi...

Females demonstrated 2-9 times higher ACL injury rate, narrow notch width and higher joint laxity in multi-planar directions [1,2]. One of potential ACL injury mechanisms is ACL impingement against the lateral wall of the femoral intercondylar notch [3], expressed as elongated and deformed ACL geometry [3] and contact area and contact pressure between the ACL and the intercondylar notch [4]. Ho...

Introduction: Single-bundle anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction has been the standard option to treat ACL-deficient knees. However, biomechanical studies have shown that normal rotational laxity cannot be restored with single-bundle reconstructions [1]. Recently, anatomic reconstruction of the anteromedial (AM) and posterolateral (PL) bundles has been introduced [2]. However, it rem...

BACKGROUND Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee is characterized by pain and activity limitations. In knee OA, proprioceptive accuracy is reduced and might be associated with pain and activity limitations. Although causes of reduced proprioceptive accuracy are divergent, medial meniscal abnormalities, which are highly prevalent in knee OA, have been suggested to play an important role. No study has ...

OBJECTIVE To examine the influence of clinical applications of heat and cold on arthrometric laxity measurements of the knee. DESIGN AND SETTING The knee joint was submersed 4 inches above the patella in hot and cold whirlpools containing water of 40 degrees C and 15 degrees C for 20 minutes. A control was also performed to provide a neutral temperature comparison group. SUBJECTS Eight male...

Background Previous literature investigating the effect of exercise on ligament laxity at the knee found that basketball and distance running elicit a significant increase in knee laxity post exercise [1], whereas powerlifting [1] and cycling [2] do not change after exercise. This suggests that, to have an effect on ligament laxity, an activity must be weight bearing and repetitive in nature. W...

BACKGROUND Whether passive measures of isokinetic muscle strength deficits and knee laxity are related to the dynamic function of the anterior cruciate ligament-deficient knee remains unclear. HYPOTHESES Arthrometer measurements are not predictive of peak external knee flexion moment (net quadriceps muscle moment), isokinetic quadriceps muscle strength correlates with peak external knee flexi...