Abstract
Changes in the isokinetic moment curve of the knee flexors have been proposed to be associated with functional instability in anterior cruciate ligament deficient (ACLD) patients. The purpose of this study was to assess if this relationship exists between breaks in the knee flexor moment curve and functional instability in an ACLD patient population.
The study involved two groups: an asymptomatic control group(n=20) and a second experimental group(n=20) diagnosed as having an anterior cruciate ligament rupture. Both groups underwent isokinetic strength assessment of the knee flexors, with the moment curves being inspected for irregularities or breaks. All subjects also completed Lysholm and Tegner questionnaires and had a standardized assessment using the International Knee Documentation Committee(IKDC) form. The findings of the questionnaires were then correlated with presence of breaks in the torque curve to assess association between these factors.
Breaks in the knee flexor moment curve were established to occur in some patients with ACL deficiency; these patients also had lower scores on a variety of functional indices. Further investigation would appear to be warranted on a larger population to establish if the presence of break phenomena in knee flexor torque curves can be used to identify those patients who can and cannot cope with ACL deficiency.