Multiple ligament knee reconstruction clinical follow-up and gait analysis

Multiple ligament knee injuries are serious and rare injures that have not been studied using advanced gait analysis techniques. The purpose of this study was to perform clinical follow-up and gait analysis on patients with multiple knee ligament reconstruction. Twenty-four patients who underwent a multi-ligament knee reconstruction by a single surgeon volunteered to participate in this study. We performed complete clinical exam including instrumented ACL exam (KT-1000), and radiological exam including weight-bearing and PCL stress radiographs (TELOS) at minimum 2 years post index surgery. In addition, we performed complete three-dimensional gait analysis on 18 patients. We used a 10-camera, high speed (120 Hz) motion analysis system in conjunction with a multi-axis strain-gage force plate which calculated knee joint kinetics and kinematics while subjects performed flat-ground walking and stair-descent tasks. Kinematic and kinetic variables were compared between reconstructed and contralateral knees and unmatched, healthy control knees. All knee joint moments were normalized to subjects’ weight. Clinical: Average knee joint flexion/extension 123.6 ± 15.5/1.7 ± 3.5, respectively. Average KT-1000 side-to-side difference was 1.2 ± 2.0 mm, TELOS side-to-side difference on stress radiographs was 4.0 ± 3.1 mm. Median IKDC score was 67 (range 13–94). Fifty-three percent of patients exhibited radiographic evidence of osteoarthritis (OA) on the operative side; one patient on the contralateral knee. During gait analysis, patients exhibited significantly reduced total knee joint range of motion, and external knee flexion moment in the reconstructed knee compared to the contralateral knee and healthy control knees. The magnitude of these differences was greater while descending a step. Finally, patients who had radiographic evidence of knee joint OA had significantly lower magnitude external knee flexion moment compared to those who did not have OA at the time of follow-up. Greater than 2 years after reconstruction, patients with multi-ligament knee injuries are able to return to daily activities. Gait analysis data suggests that patients may be experiencing higher magnitude changes in sagittal plane kinematics and kinetics during demanding functional tasks (stair decent). Changes in walking gait biomechanics may help explain why this group is experiencing unilateral knee joint degeneration.