Increased meniscal loading after anterior cruciate ligament transection in vivo: A longitudinal study in sheep

Abstract Introduction Meniscal injury has been well documented as a frequent consequence of both acute and chronic ACL deficiency. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of ACL deficiency on meniscal loads in vivo and determine how these loads would change over time after ACL injury. M...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The knee 2015-01, Vol.22 (1), p.11-17
Main Authors: Atarod, Mohammad, Frank, Cyril B, Shrive, Nigel G
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accuracy
ACL rupture
Animals
Anterior Cruciate Ligament - physiopathology
Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries
Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction
Biomechanical Phenomena - physiology
Biomechanics
Female
Gait - physiology
In vivo
Knee
Knee Joint - physiopathology
Ligaments
Load
Longitudinal
Longitudinal Studies
Medical research
Menisci, Tibial - physiology
Meniscus
Orthopedics
Robots
Sheep
Sports injuries
Studies
Weight-Bearing - physiology
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Summary:Abstract Introduction Meniscal injury has been well documented as a frequent consequence of both acute and chronic ACL deficiency. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of ACL deficiency on meniscal loads in vivo and determine how these loads would change over time after ACL injury. Methods The in vivo kinematics of the stifle joint of five sheep were measured during normal gait, as well as 4 and 20 weeks after ACL transection. A unique robotic testing platform was then programmed to reproduce all the previously recorded kinematics and the loads carried by medial and lateral menisci during gait were estimated. Results The results demonstrated a significant increase in both medial and lateral meniscal loads 20 weeks following ACL transection, mainly during mid-stance phase of gait ( p = 0.007 and p = 0.003, respectively), with interesting inter-subject variability. A moderate correlation ( R2 ≥ 0.5) between in situ meniscal loads and anterior tibial translations was also detected over time after injury, increased translations post injury generally corresponded to larger meniscal loads. Conclusion The dramatic increase in meniscal loads long term post ACL transection probably explains the meniscal changes or injuries reported clinically in many chronic ACL-deficient knees. Level of evidence: III.
ISSN:0968-0160
1873-5800
DOI:10.1016/j.knee.2014.10.011