The Effect of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction on Knee Joint Kinematics Under Simulated Muscle Loads

BackgroundNumerous studies have investigated anterior stability of the knee during the anterior drawer test after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Few studies have evaluated anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction under physiological loads.PurposeTo determine whether anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction reproduced knee motion under simulated muscle loads.Study DesignControlled laboratory study.MethodsEight human cadaveric knees were tested with the anterior cruciate ligament intact, transected, and reconstructed (using a bone–patellar tendon–bone graft) on a robotic testing system. Tibial translation and rotation were measured at 0 °, 15 °, 30 °, 60 °, and 90 ° of flexion under anterior drawer loading (130 N), quadriceps muscle loading (400 N), and combined quadriceps and hamstring muscle loading (400 N and 200 N, respectively). Repeated-measures analysis of variance and the Student-Newman-Keuls test were used to detect statistically significant differences between knee states.ResultsAnte...