Evaluation of knee muscles in patients undergoing anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

Abstract

The objective of this study is to determine whether muscle strength loss in the knee muscles develops or not due to the hamstring tendons used for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction with some clinical and functional measures. 25 patients undergoing autogenous hamstring tendon graft with arthroscopic endbutton cruciate ligament (CL) due to ACL tear were evaluated in this paper. Operated knees of patients were compared those healthy. As femoral fixation, endbutton CL was selected while as tibia fixation, bio absorbable screw was selected. The patients were involved in the study in the 9th month at least. During 9 months, the patients were subject to specific exercise program. During the evaluation, dynamometric measurement of knee muscle strength, single and triple leg hop test for distance, crossover hop test, Lysholm II score and Cincinnati knee score were used. In the dynamometric measurements implemented following the surgical evalua¬tion, no significant differences were detected between the site on which ACL repair was performed and the one on which ACL repair was not performed in the end of 9th month (p>0.005). Upon the evaluation of leg symmetry index with single and triple leg hop test for distance, crossover hop test, no significant differences were detected between the knee which was exposed to ACL repair and the other one which was not exposed to ACL repair (p>0.05). It was showed that no loss of knee muscles was detected following the ACL repair performed with the use of arthroscopic endobutton CL and hamstring tendon graft. Both functional recovery and high satisfaction rates were acquired in the patients. 

Keywords

• Anterior cruciate ligament
• Autogenous hamstring tendon graft
• Endbutton
• Arthroscopic reconstruction
• Functional score
• Patients