Knee joint movements in subjects without knee pathology and subjects with injured anterior cruciate ligaments.
OBJECTIVE
Although weight-bearing (WB) exercise and increased hamstring muscle activity may contribute to knee joint stability in knees with an injured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), the relationship among ACL integrity, muscle activity, and joint surface motion is not fully understood. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether knee joint rolling and gliding movements and electromyographic (EMG) activity differed between subjects with injured ACLs and subjects without knee pathology.


METHODS
Fifteen subjects with injured ACLs (9 men and 6 women; mean age=26 years, SD=7, range=18-36) and 15 age- and sex-matched subjects without knee pathology (9 men and 6 women; mean age=25 years, SD=6, range=18-36) participated in the study.


METHODS
Sagittal-plane knee joint rolling and gliding movements and lower-extremity EMG activity were measured during non-weight-bearing (NWB) and WB movements. Mixed-model analyses of variance were conducted to analyze rolling and gliding and EMG data.


RESULTS
During NWB knee extension, greater joint surface gliding occurred in knees with injured ACLs at full knee extension. During WB knee extension, greater gliding occurred in knees with injured ACLs throughout the range of motion tested. No differences in EMG activity occurred between groups.


CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest that, in the absence of increased hamstring muscle activity, anterior tibial displacement is not reduced in knees with injured ACLs during WB movement.
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016118:Anterior Cruciate Ligament / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000070598:Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004576:Electromyography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D009119:Muscle Contraction; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D016474:Weight-Bearing